


The Day Has Come

by baileek313



Series: My Heroic Hearts [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Character Development, Family Feels, Gen, M/M, Roxas and Sora Are Twins (Kingdom Hearts), Sort Of, it works out, so some people have regressed to kh1 in the beginning, sora has one for all but doesn't realize it, which leads to problems
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-14
Updated: 2020-02-15
Packaged: 2020-12-14 22:02:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 14
Words: 62,663
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21022946
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baileek313/pseuds/baileek313
Summary: As a child, Sora learned the hard way that not everyone was created equal. Some had more power than others. Things start to change once he hits high school. People he cared about are lost and an unspeakable power burning in his heart is unleashed. It’s time to take that first step into becoming a hero. A hero who is able to save everyone… no matter the cost.





	1. Origins: Sora

**Author's Note:**

> An AU where KH characters, and all associated with them (Final Fantasy, Disney, etc) are in the world of My Hero Academia. Sora has One for All, the characters have Quirks, etc.
> 
> It's not all the same as the plot of BNHA, but it follows it in the basics of certain events. As time goes on, you'll see the difference concerning relationships and backstories and the like. Especially in this chapter.
> 
> This is mostly exposition, and follows the first season of the anime to keep things steady. Hope you all enjoy! Because this, aside from one other chapter, is the only time things won't hit pretty hard.

When they were kids, they learned the hard way what their Quirks were. All of his friends had it easy. Their Quirks were physical. Well, he supposed that his Quirk was as well, but that’s where the trouble was. Sora never showed signs of having a Quirk. It wasn’t until later that he was faced with the devastating truth. 

The memory of that doctor’s visit played again in Sora’s head as he sat in his middle school homeroom, bouncing his leg and trying to forget about what was going on. It was that fateful day that his childhood dreams were crushed. Sora's eyes wandered to the front as his teacher began to address the class.

"As third year students, you all must start thinking seriously about your futures," he said, placing a stack of papers upon their representative's desk. The redheaded girl picked them up promptly and began to do as she was told. "Shimizu will be coming around to pass out career aptitude tests now."

“Why even bother, teach?” piped up a student not too far away from Sora’s desk.

“Because it’s required. I know that you all want to apply for the hero courses at your high school of choice, but that doesn’t guarantee you’ll get in.”

“If they’re lucky enough,” added the silver-haired boy at the very back of the class. “With Quirks like those, you’ll all be happy to just be a sidekick to a low-ranking hero.” Sora glanced over at him. He was smirking. “Unlike me.”

“What are you trying to say, Yamazaki?!” said Sora’s classmate, standing up fast enough to almost knock on his chair over. The silver-haired boy barely batted an eye. If anything, the outburst only made his smirk grew wider.

“Do I need to spell it out for you?” said the boy as he stood himself, a fierce look shining in his eye. “Come on, I can take you!” There was a loud slam as their teacher brought his hand down on the desk, making the entire class jump.

“Sit down, both of you,” he said sternly. The boys exchanged a look with each other before following through with what they were told. Their teacher let out a sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose. “...However, Yamazaki does have a point. With grades like yours, you might be able to get into U.A.’s Hero Course.  _ If _ you fix that attitude of yours.”

Sora bit his lip to hold back his grin at the mention of that place. U.A. High School. It had the top ranking hero program in the state, maybe even the country. But unless you were extraordinarily gifted or increasingly powerful, it was nearly impossible to get in. Last time Sora checked, the acceptance rate was a little over 0.2%.

“Hey, Sora.” Sora picked up his head as their class rep placed one of the career tests on his desk. 

“Yeah, Kairi?”

“Don’t you want to apply to U.A., too?” Sora proudly nodded. All that pride he had felt went away in an instant when he heard one of his classmates bark out a laugh.

“You? You want to apply to U.A., Leonhart?” Sora groaned, planting his face on his desk as his classmate went on. “Don’t make me laugh. Someone like you could never—” He heard a loud screech of a chair. Sora whirled around to find his classmate’s seat jerked back and a tendril of black retreating quickly under his silver-haired friend’s desk. 

“Hey, knock it off, will you?” said the boy. “The only one allowed to make fun of Sora is me.”

“Thanks, Riku,” Sora said with a heavy sigh. It had been backhanded defense, but then again, it had also come from Riku. Sora hadn’t expected anything less from his best friend. But still… all eyes had fallen on him. “Besides, I just want to go into the support course. It’s not like I’m setting myself up for the hero track. I want to support all of my friends and keep them safe while they fight the villains.”

“No, the Leonhart you’re looking for is me!” Sora winced at the bright flash of light from the person in front of him. It wasn’t something that he expected, but it was something that he had become used to growing up with the boy sitting in front of him.

“Roxas!” cried out several students, rubbing their eyes to get their vision back into focus. Sora held back a laugh as Roxas snuck deep into his seat.

“Sorry…” Roxas said with a nervous laugh of his own.

_ Roxas Leonhart. Quirk: Light. He can create energetic orbs of light in his hands that can be used for a multitude of things, such as creating beams or blinding his enemies. Or his classmates. _

Sora’s attention returned to the front of the room as his teacher let out a heavy sigh.

“Listen, I know you all are excited about taking that next step towards your future,” said their teacher with a firm gaze on the boy sitting in front of Sora, “but please keep in mind that the use of Quirks are strictly prohibited on campus. Leonhart.”

“I said I was sorry!”

“Please don’t try to blind us again…” Sora sighed, staring down at the sheet in front of him. Of course, that was his plan. Much like his friends and family, he had his sights set on the hero track from a very young age. But then… as everyone around him started to develop their Quirks… Sora was left in the dust. Powerless. It wasn’t until his father had him taken to the doctor that he found out the devastating truth.

_ Sora Leonhart. Quirk: None. _

As much as it pained him, Sora shared the same dream as his twin. He always would. More than anything in the world, he wanted to be a hero. But… Sora stared down at the palm of his hand. Not everyone was born equal. Without a Quirk, it was impossible. Sora knew he didn’t need a Quirk to be able to help his friends with their dreams. He was going to try his hardest to support them from the sidelines. That was all he really could do.

* * *

The day stretched out as normal for the middle school class, with the morning’s events still lingering in the back of Sora’s mind.

“You guys go on without me,” Sora had said to his friends as they were packing up to leave, “I’ll catch up.” After a brief back-and-forth, the trio of Roxas, Riku and Kairi had relented. Sora sat at his desk, working on a little project he had started during their lunch period. In order to prepare himself for the future that lay ahead of him, the young teen had taken up the task of analyzing the Quirks of every hero and every person he came across.

His own family was not an exception to that. His father had gotten caught up in a fight that morning, and videos were already posted all over the internet. Even though most of the were amatuar shots, they still provide useful information. Sora had just fished out his phone, ready to begin watching the first of the videos when it was snatched from his hand. Sora blinked once before glancing up at the classmate who had taken it from him.

“Please give it back.” Sora jumped up, but the boy held it out of his reach. “I said give it back!”

“What are you doing?” said the student as Sora once again tried to reach for his phone. Sora stared at him. “You’re delusional, you know. Support? Please. Who’d buy that crap? You want to be a hero, and everyone knows it.” Sora stared at him. It was rare that he ran into someone like this. Most people nowadays don't care if the boy was Quirkless or not. But every time there was that one person who thought having a Quirk made them better than anyone.

“...please give me back my phone,” Sora said with a sigh.

“You mean this?” Sora nodded. His bully merely gave a shrug. In the next second, he tossed it out the open window as if it were just a piece of trash. In a flash, Sora rushed towards the window in hopes of catching it before it was out of reach. His classmate grabbed the back of his shirt, effectively holding him back. “Most heroes show their potential. People look at them and they just know. Your friend, your brother… they can all be heroes. They’re real. You? You’re just pathetic. Word of advice? Don’t even think of applying. It’d be a waste of time.”

Sora went still. The words sunk into his mind … he wasn’t going to deny it. He was right.

“You know, coming from a family like his, you’d at least expect him to fight back…” Sora heard one of his classmates who still had yet to leave fail to whisper.

“I think he finally gets that fighting back at this point is useless…” added another. The boy holding Sora back finally let go.

“Ya know, Leonhart,” he said as Sora straightened himself out, “if you want to be a hero that badly, just pray that you’ll have a Quirk in your next life and take a swan dive off of the roof.” 

Now that had done it. Sora grit his teeth, trying to stop his hands from shaking. He turned, grabbing his things and rushing out of the classroom as fast as he could go. He weaved through the hallways and the other students, ignoring anyone who tried to call out to him.

_ You can’t just go tell someone to jump off the roof. What if I really did it? You’d have the whole school turn against you… jerk. _

Sora didn’t stop running until he had stepped outside of the building. He rounded the corner, trying to find the window that opened up to his classroom. Maybe if he explained to his dad what had happened, he wouldn’t get mad… The moment that Sora came around the corner, something was held out in front of his face that made him stop.

“Looking for this?” Roxas stood there, leaning up against the wall and letting his brother’s phone dangle between his fingers. Sora sighed, taking the item from his twin. “Riku managed to catch it before it hit the ground and shattered. You really should thank him.”

“Yeah, I know…” Sora slid the phone into his pocket. as the two brothers began to walk towards the school’s gate. He heard Roxas mutter something under his breath before turning to him.

“Why do you let them treat you like that?” he asked. The only thing Sora could think to do was to offer up a simple shrug.

“Not like it's really a big deal, it's only a few people.” A few people that never really knew when to stop. “Everyone generally likes me.”

“Then there are stuck-up jerks who bully you for being Quirkless.” Sora bit back a groan, staring at the concrete underneath his feet. He heard Roxas sigh. “All I'm saying is, you shouldn't just stand there and take it. Our parents are Pro Heroes and I'm going to be a hero, too. It's really weird that you don't act like one.” This time, Sora really did groan.

“Whatever,” he said as both he and Roxas finally left the school. It was their last year of middle school, why was he bringing it up now? “I just have to make it through this year, and then there's nothing to worry about. We'll both be at U.A. You'll be in the hero course, and I'll have your back then.” Sora forced out a laugh as he threw his arm over his brother’s shoulders. Roxas rolled his eyes.

“Speaking of which,” Roxas ducked out from his brother’s hold, “do you think Cloud's home yet?” Sora let out a little sigh. At least the subject was dropped.

“Not sure, depends whether the train's on time.”

* * *

The two brothers made their way home, with Sora being grateful that Roxas didn’t bring up their earlier topic again in the conversation they had. The moment that their home came into view, both of the boys picked up their pace, racing to see who could reach the door first. Sora had won that title.

“Dad! Cloud!” Sora called into the house as he swung the door open. “We're home!” There was only one person to greet the twins as they entered the kitchen. Sitting at the table was the second of their two guardians.

“Squall had something last minute to take care of. He'll be home soon,” said Cloud without missing a beat. He glanced up from the stack of papers laid out in front of him when Sora sat across from him. He sighed. “What happened?”

“Why does something have to happen?” said Sora, letting his bag drop to the floor with a thud. “School was completely normal, as always. Boring. Nothing happened that you would want to hear about.”

“Yeah, normal,” said Roxas, already rummaging through the pantry. “We talked about having to apply to high schools, what we want to do with our lives, took some tests, Riku nearly made someone fall flat on the floor, and someone tried to throw Sora's phone out the window.” Sora froze for a split second before twisted around to face his traitorous twin.

“It’s not my fault! He thought I was lying about going into support!” He sighed, turning back around when Roxas only shrugged. Sora leaned up against the table. “...Even if I did want to be a hero, I couldn’t be… right? I don’t have a Quirk.”

“Sora,” said Cloud, trying to get the boy’s attention. Sora stared at the tabletop. Who made up that stupid rule? Only people with Quirks could be heroes. There had been plenty of people who were heroes before Quirks started to appear in the human population. Who said that Quirks were a requirement now? They weren’t back then.

“Hey… Cloud?” Cloud hummed in response, having gone back to the paperwork before him. “Is… Is it even possible for someone like me to be a hero? I’m just a normal kid without any powers… could I ever be someone like you and Dad?” Silence fell, leaving Sora’s question echoing on his ears.

“Sora.” Sora looked up at Cloud. With the same, constant stoic expression, Cloud traced a finger down his face — from his forehead, across his nose and down to his cheek. It was the same path as the mark that marred his father’s face. “Do you remember how your father got his scar?”

“Fighting a villain, right?” Cloud nodded. Sora had heard the story many times, either from a friend or by his father himself. Why was Cloud bringing it up now?

“A few inches farther, and he would’ve taken out his eye. And that’s the least gruesome injury I’ve seen. A colleague of mine once took a blow that destroyed his entire respiratory system, and another that lost his stomach. Even kids end up getting hurt while trying to become heroes. Things like that… they can’t be fixed.” Sora could feel his stomach twist into knots. Why was he saying all of this?!

“We may be smiling out there, but behind that smile is a fear that we can’t show. People can’t think that we’re afraid,” Cloud went on, ignoring Sora’s uneasy expression. “We’re always putting our lives at risk. And some villains just can’t be beaten without powers. You can’t be a hero without a Quirk, Sora.”

“I…” Anything else that Sora wanted to say got stuck in his throat. Those words had caused something to shatter.

“I don’t want to see you get hurt, alright? Besides, what about the support course plan you made up? There’s always that. You can still help people by supporting the heroes.” He fell quiet, wrapping his hands around his uniform pants in an attempt to stop them from shaking. “Sora.” He couldn’t take it. Sora got up and bolted from the table. He ignored both Cloud and Roxas’s calls for him. He just wanted to be left alone.

_ That’s… That’s not what I wanted to hear from you…!  _ The tears had started to run by the time Sora made it to his room. He wiped them away as he tried to stop them. Real heroes didn’t cry. But the again… he could never be a hero, could he? He dropped down on his bed, burying his face into his knees as he tried to stop. To keep himself quiet. Because he had been so focused on that, Sora didn’t hear the door open and close. Nor did he feel the end of his bed sink.

“Hey, stop it. Seeing you cry is weird.” Sora lifted his head, propping his chin up on his knees. Roxas had sat on the edge of the bed, staring at his twin. He wiped away what remained on his face with his sleeve, the sob stuck in his throat. The pair stayed like that for a while. How long it was, Sora wasn’t sure. All he knew was that the tears had stopped when Roxas put a hand on his shoulder.

“So what if you don’t have a Quirk?” said Roxas. “Doesn’t mean that you can’t be a hero if you want to.”

“But you heard Cloud—” Roxas cut Sora off by putting his hand over his mouth.

“Who cares what Cloud says? He’s not our dad, remember? He just married ‘im.” Sora only hummed in response. Roxas may have had a point, but it didn’t change what Cloud had said. Sora was about to point this out when a buzz came from his pocket. He fished out his phone, having forgotten earlier that it was even there. “Who’s that?”

“Riku,” Sora replied, taking a look at the text that he had been sent. “There’s a meteor shower tonight. He wants to know if I wanna go watch it on the beach with him and Kairi.” Sora glanced over at Roxas. “You wanna come?” Roxas threw him a look.

“They’re your friends, not mine.” The photographs hanging on the walls of the boys’ room begged to differ. The small laugh that Roxas’s response got out of him was cut off by a loud thud downstairs. The twins exchanged a look with each other. Noises like that were not uncommon in the Leonhart household, but the fact that two Pro Heroes lived in the house always triggered an alarm in the boys’ heads when they heard them.

Sora and Roxas raced out of the room. Though their nerves were soothed when they found nothing in the living room had changed. They did, however, find Cloud hastily pulling on the last bits of his hero costume. He stood in front of the door, not even noticing the twins standing on the staircase.

“Everything okay?” Cloud flinched when the younger twin spoke up. He turned on his heel, the faintest bit of surprise on his face relaxing when he saw the boys staring at him.

“Just some villain activity,” he replied, finally getting the armor on his shoulder into the position he wanted. “I’ll be back later. Both of you are to stay here.” Sora thought about the invitation Riku had offered up.

“But—!” 

“No buts.” That single look from Cloud was enough to stop any argument Sora had right then and there. “You know the rules.” Sora sighed, giving him a nod. There was no leaving the house when both him and their father were out on hero business.

“We know,” said Roxas with an obvious hint of annoyance at having to be reminded. “Now go.” Cloud didn’t need to be told twice. He left without another word. Silence filled the house for a moment, only to be broken by Sora’s sigh. He was really looking forward to that bright spot on this horrible day. He glanced over at Roxas. An idea formed in his head.

“Roxas?” Sora turned to him, cranking up the pleading to an eleven.

“No,” he stated almost immediately, as if having read his brother’s mind.

“Roxas, please? I don’t want to miss this.” All Sora would have to do was convince Roxas to cover for him. “Besides, Dad and Cloud don’t get back until really late when they have to do stuff like this! I’ll be back before them!” He stared at his brother, trying to make his eyes as wide as possible. After a moment, Roxas huffed a sigh.

“Fine, but when you get in trouble, don’t come crying to me.” Sora grinned, wrapping his brother in a one-arm squeeze

“Thank you!” Sora heard Roxas muttered something to himself as he rushed back upstairs to fire off his reply to Riku. He didn’t know what he had done to deserve a brother like Roxas.

* * *

Spending the night with his friends was something that Sora desperately needed. The entire day he had been bombarded with those depressing reminders about his status and his crushed dreams because of something that he had no control over. Riku and Kairi had been there for him since they were kids. They always provided comfort and support. And to top it all off, there was going to be a meteor shower. How could he say no to something like that?

Soon, the three were sitting on the cleanest part of the beach that they could find. Their eyes were focused on the lit-up sky above them, the only conversation being a few words exchanged every now and then on random topics that they thought up. It wasn't until Sora felt his phone buzz that he remembered the events from earlier that day.

“Thanks, by the way,” Sora finally told Riku, breaking the quiet that had once again fallen. 

“For what?” Riku asked, an eyebrow raised.

“For saving my phone.”

“Yeah, well, you shouldn’t let people do that to you. I’m not always going to be there to catch it.” Sora bit back a groan.

“You sound like Roxas.” The last thing Sora needed was yet another lecture on how he should be standing up for himself and not letting other people do it. To be fair, they were right. Sora just didn’t want to hear it right now.

“What happened, anyway?” asked Kairi. Well, now there was no real getting away from it or letting the subject go. Sora sighed, bringing his knees close to his chest. He stared down at the sand.

“You guys think I can be a hero, right?” There was an uncomfortable silence from both of his friends. That was never a good sign.

“I thought you wanted to be support,” Riku said, not making the unease in Sora’s stomach any better.

“I do! But…” Sora groaned as the events of the day finally found a place in his memory. Going into Support was fine and all, but… “Ever since we were kids, all we wanted was to be were heroes. And then I ruined everything because I don’t have a Quirk.”

“You didn’t ruin anything,” said Kairi, placing her hand on his shoulder. “Besides, you don’t have to have a Quirk to get into U.A., right?”

“That’s why I’m going for support, but…” Sora sighed, flopping back into the sand. He stared at the calming night sky above them. Almost all the meteors had crossed over by now. “I can’t stop thinking about it. What if I was born with a Quirk? ...why am I the only normal one out of all of us?”

“Not all of us. About… twenty percent of the population is the same as you,” said Riku. Sora groaned, dragging his hands down his face. Between his fingers, he could see Kairi throwing their friend a look. “What? It’s true.” True or not, it wasn’t what Sora needed to hear.

“Maybe Cloud was right,” said Sora. He sat up against, resting up on the palms of his hands. “Maybe someone like me can’t be a hero.” Kairi nudged his arm.

“You can’t let them get to you like that. No matter what anyone else thinks, you have to keep believing in yourself. Just keep on smiling, and they can’t get to you.” She ended with a bright smile of her own. Sora mimicked her.

“Thanks, Kairi.” He silently thanked whoever brought that positive ray of sunshine into his life. Many people often claimed that the trio shouldn’t have been friends. Sora didn’t exactly blame them. Upon first glance, they weren’t alike at all. But opposites tend to attract. That’s how Sora met Riku. That’s how they made friends with Kairi. Each was an outcast in their own right, from their backgrounds and personalities. But to Sora, that’s what made his friends one-in-a-million.

The peace between the trio was broken by a low rumble in the distance. Their eyes were drawn towards something rapidly approaching from the street. A thick, black cloud was making its way quickly towards them.

“A storm?” Sora muttered out loud. The trio stared in the direction of the rising cloud. It was getting closer. Storm clouds don’t move that fast… do they?

“I don’t think so…” Riku muttered. As the cloud got closer, Sora realized that it wasn’t a cloud. It was a thick fog of smoke. The three jumped to their feet as it surrounded their spot. A figure formed in front of the three kids. While his friends immediately took up defensive positions. Sora felt tension take over his body. He took a step back.

“Don’t you kids listen to your parents? You shouldn’t be out after dark.” The smoke started to encircle the trio. Sora couldn’t move. Thick tendrils shot out toward the three. Screams were cut short, muffled by the smoke the villain produced. Through the black cloud, Sora could make out his friends actively trying to use their Quirks to free themselves. It was no use. They were just kids, there was no way they could break out.

Sora choked on the cloud, clawing at his throat as the limbs lifted him and his friends off of the ground and brought them closer to the villain.

“Don’t make this any harder than it needs to be, kids. It will all be over soon if you quit fighting back,” said the villain as the smokey appendages grew only thicker. “I had no idea that  _ they  _ were nearby. I have to get rid of you both fast, or I’ll get caught.”

_ Rid of…? No… No, no, no, no, no…! _

“NO!” Sora cried out. He felt something rush through his body. His limbs burned. He let out a scream as he felt a horrible, blinding pain explode throughout his body. Something let him go. He felt himself hit the sand, tears pricking his eyes as the pain returned. It hurt… Everything hurt… Sora couldn’t take it. The pain was too much for him to handle. Black took over his vision.

The last thing he heard before unconsciousness took over were several voices crying out his name.

* * *

_ “I need you to hold onto something for me… okay?” _

_ “You need it… more than me… The world needs a hero… and I can’t…” _

_ “All for One, and One for All…” _

* * *

“What happened.” Those were the first words that Sora heard when his mind returned to reality. He opened his eyes, only to immediately close them again. The light of the room was practically blinding. He let out a small groan.

“It was Sora! That guy was going to kill us if he didn’t! Don’t get mad at him, please!” His arms and legs felt like they were being weighed down with sandbags. Sora forced his eyes to stay open long enough to get a good look at his surroundings.

“I won’t.” He opened his eyes more. He was lying in a hospital bed. He could make out the sound of a monitor and a needle jammed into his arm. Standing at the end of the bed were… Kairi and Riku? ...Why were they bandaged like that? 

Standing in front of them and talking to the two was Cloud. Sora felt his fingers dig into the sheets beneath him. Oh no… well… he owed Roxas an apology for making him cover for him like that. Looks like Cloud found out anyway. ...Wait, if Cloud was here, then that meant...

“D-Dad?” God, his throat hurt. Sora glanced over at his side. Sitting by his bed was a very familiar face that he wasn’t sure how to feel about at that moment. His father’s expression was unreadable, causing knots to form in Sora’s stomach.

“You’re awake,” he sighed, running a hand through his hair. Sora felt the tension start to ebb away. He sounded more concerned than he did mad. In fact, he didn’t sound mad at all. Concerned and relieved was the most Sora could make out.

“Sora!” Kairi cried out. Both she and Riku rushed to the end of the bed.

“Are you feeling alright?” Riku asked. Even though his face didn’t show it, Sora could tell through his voice alone that he had been concerned. He nodded, carefully and slowly pushing himself into a sitting position.

“...everything’s really sore, but…” Sora stared at his hand and the IV stuck into his veins. He felt like a giant bruise. Other than that… “ I think I’m okay…” He heard his father sigh again. He stood up, locking eyes with his partner across the room.

“Cloud,” he said, that often flat tone that Sora was used to taking place of the earlier displayed emotion, “take these two home.”

“What?!” exclaimed Kairi.

“Come on!” Riku groaned.

“Just be glad you’re not getting lectured by me for sneaking out,” said Cloud, not bothering to hide his harsh tone as he took the pair by the back of their shirts. “I’ll save that for your parents.” Riku let out a groan and Kairi a whimper as Cloud lead them out of the room.

Sora cringed from sympathy. Yeah… they were in just as much trouble, if not more than Sora was. He swallowed something in his throat before locking eyes with his father. That stern look that was etched upon the hero’s face made the tension in Sora’s body even worse.

“Um… Dad?” he said, breaking the silence that had built between them since the other three had left. “Is this about me…?”

“Your own limbs were broken, Sora.” That… had not been what he was expecting. At all.

“I…” Sora blinked, trying to process what his father had just said. “What?”

“Your arms and legs were shattered, don’t make me repeat it.” So Sora had heard him right. He stared down at his blanket-covered legs. “You’re lucky that healing quirks exist, otherwise you would be stuck in that bed. You need to thank Aerith the next time you see her.” That wasn’t what Sora was focusing on. All he did was stare down at his own body.

“So that guy broke my body?” What? But that guy’s Quirk was some sort of sentient smoke… right? Sure, it was able to lift three teenagers off of the ground, but there was no way it could shatter bone… could it?

“More like you broke his.” He… he did what? His father sighed, leaning against the chair he had abandoned. “Sora, what exactly happened?”

“I-I don’t know. I heard that he was going to kill us so… so… I didn’t want that to happen so… I panicked and tried my best to hit him. Next thing I knew, we were lying in the sand, and ‘m here.” Everything was a blur, he couldn’t remember it clearly enough. Did he even hit the guy? Everything had happened so quickly… but if his Dad was right… Sora looked up at his father, his eyes wide. He curled up tighter in the bed.

“...Dad, what did I do…?”


	2. Brother of Mine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sora gains something and loses something.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning, this chapter will cover the "sludge" villain fight in BNHA canon... kind of.
> 
> If anyone is coming here from tumblr, then you already know what is probably going to happen.
> 
> I am not sorry.

Sora sat frozen in his seat as those words echoed through his mind. After the events of that night on the beach, his parents thought it best to get to the root of what exactly had gone on. And now… now, after a quick examination, those words had turned Sora’s entire world upside down.

_ A… Quirk? I… I actually have a quirk…?!  _

“My best guess is that it’s some sort of strength enhancement. A literal superpower,” continued the doctor after dropping that life-altering bit of news. How was he acting so calm? Sora had a Quirk! “What was his mother's Quirk if you don't mind me asking?”

“Their mother shared a Quirk with his brother. His light…” His father sighed, running a hand through his hair. “But this is nothing like that or my own or even a combination of ours. Is it possible that it’s some sort of a mutation?” The doctor glanced over at Sora, who was still fidgeting in his seat.

“...The possibility is highly unlikely, but not improbable,” said the doctor after a moment. He sighed, pushing his glasses further up his nose. “You have to understand, it’s incredibly rare. Only 0.01% of people experience such a mutation. Though it is surprising that he managed to develop it so late in life. Most children are either born with their quirk or develop it by the age of four.”

“That’s what I was told ten years ago.” Sora glanced over at him before realizing what exactly he was talking about.

_ Right… I got that exam when I was a kid…  _ It had been the worst day of his life. As soon as they got home, Sora had spent the rest of the day in his room in tears.

“My only question is why did it hurt him like it did?” Cloud asked from his spot against the wall. “If it weren’t for a friend of ours, he would be paralyzed.” Sora bit down on his lip. Right… there was that, too… Sora had almost forgotten about that… even if it was just yesterday. The doctor hummed.

“That’s the thing. I’m not quite sure,” he said, causing Sora to glance up at him. “I can only assume that it has something to do with his late development. Our bodies are designed to adapt in order to handle any blossoming quirks. Sora hasn’t had the chance to build up enough immunity to the backlash of his power, hence the breakage.” He let out a small grin. How wasn’t important to him. There was one thing that Sora cared about most at that moment.

_ I… I have a Quirk. I have a Quirk…! _

* * *

“I have a Quirk…” Sora muttered to himself as he followed his parents up the walkway. The news had left him in utter bliss for the past few hours. He was home from the hospital and most of all, he had a Quirk. Sora Leonhart had a  _ Quirk _ . He had powers! He could—

Sora finally snapped out of his europhic trance when his father placed his hand on his shoulder. He had been seconds away from tripping over the front step.

“Don’t think this means you’re not in trouble,” Sora bit back a groan as his father straightened him out. “You still snuck out, Sora. So, for that, you’re grounded for the rest of the week.”

“Dad!”

“Listen to your father, Sora,” added Cloud, pulling out the door’s keys. “We’re happy for you, but you did break the rules, as well as your bones. But…” Cloud paused, the key hovering above the lock. Sora raised a brow. But what? Cloud shoved the key into the lock. “You did show potential. If we can harness your power…”

“ _ Cloud _ ,” said Sora’s father. Cloud glanced over at his partner.

“What?” Sora watched as his father sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“We can talk about that later.” He reached over, turning the key and opening the door. Sora stood there as his parents entered the house. What?

“Talk about what later?” Sora asked, looking between the two of his parents.

“Don’t worry about it,” his father said with a sigh. Sora groaned, shoving his hands into his pockets before entering the house himself. “We’ll discuss it in the morning. Right now, you need to get some rest.”

“But I got plenty of that yesterday.” And today, he had to add. He  _ just _ got discharged from the hospital.

“And now I’m telling you to get more.” Sora sighed, but did not argue any further. He knew about the Quirk that was used to help him stand there right now, as well as the repercussions of it. Sora wasn’t going to take the chance of his parents playing that card. Cloud leaned over, taking out the key and shutting the front door.

“Roxas! We’re home.” Cloud called out as he hung the key up by the door. There was no response. “...Roxas? Roxas!”

“He’s probably upstairs,” Sora’s father reassured his partner. Sora glanced up at the staircase. “I’ll order dinner.” Cloud simply nodded. As his parents made their way to the other room, to do whatever Sora could guess, the boy himself stood at the bottom of the stairs. He couldn’t wait to tell Roxas about what had happened.

Sora made his way up the stairs, excited to drop the news. However, to his surprise, Roxas was standing at the top of the staircase, hidden in the darkness of the hall. The second he spotted Sora, he turned and had his way towards their room.

“Roxas!” Sora called out to his brother. Roxas stopped in the middle of the hall, his back towards him, and his hands were stuffed deep into his pockets. Sora opened his mouth to tell his brother the great news. However, there was something… off. Even in the dark, Sora could make out the awkward position Roxas was standing in. “Are… you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Roxas replied, his tone flat and near monotone.

“No, you’re not. I know you, and I know you’re not.” They had been together for fourteen years, and Roxas still thought he could hide his emotions from him.

“You don’t know me.”

“Sure I do,” Sora said with a shrug. “You’re my brother, I know everything about you.”

“Then you must know what it's like.” Sora blinked, staring at Roxas with an eyebrow raised.

“What are you talking about?”

“Are you really that stupid? Or are you just that blind?” Roxas was becoming more and more rigid as he went on, practically speaking through his teeth at this point. His eyes were narrowed.

“Roxas?”

“You don’t know.” He shut his eyes. His body was shaking. “You’ll never know.”

“Roxas, you can tell me anything.” That’s always been Sora’s policy between the two. There were no secrets. “What’s wrong?” Those words alone made the situation worse.

“Do you know what it’s like?!” Roxas snapped, swivelling around to fully face his brother. “To constantly be outshined by the one person who’s supposed to be there for you your entire life?!”

“What?” What was he talking about? Had he really been thinking about this the whole time? How did he hide it for so long? “Roxas, I-I didn’t…”

“Of course you didn’t. You never would have caught on if I didn’t tell you.” Roxas snapped, creating a small ball of light that hovered above the tip of his finger. “My Quirk was the only thing that made me special. Now, you come out of nowhere with all… this!” 

“You… You know?”

“Dad told me. When they were discharging you, he sent me a message and told me. Now, because of you, I’m nothing!” He wrapped his hand around the ball, extinguishing it and filling the hall with darkness once again. That struck a blow to Sora’s chest.

“R-Roxas, that’s not true—”

“Yes, it is!” Why was he saying that? That wasn’t true, Sora knew it. “My Quirk was the only reason anyone paid any attention to me! And now, out of nowhere, you have this amazing power, and everyone’s eyes are on you.”

“Well, I mean… yeah.” That was the point of the night. “We just found out I have a Quirk, so…” Roxas loudly groaned, cutting Sora off.

“Do you hear yourself?! Don’t you get it?! You’re doing it right now!” Sora blinked.

“Doing what?” Roxas was shaking again.

“Do you want to know what everyone talks about? You.” His voice was growing louder as he went on, and every word was like a punch in the gut. “All I ever hear about is you! Do you know that’s the only reason people are friends with me? Why they tolerate me?! IT’S ALL BECAUSE OF YOU THAT ANYONE EVEN CARES ABOUT ME!”

Roxas’s voice left a heavy silence in the hall and Sora stunned. He did nothing but stare, his mouth agape. He couldn’t find the right words to say. What was he supposed to say? He never knew… He never realized that Roxas… that his own twin brother had ever felt this way.

“Roxas—” Sora began. He held out a hand, only to have Roxas smack it away.

“Just forget it.” Roxas turned, heading for the door at the end of the hall. All the while, Sora stood there. Roxas pressed a hand against the door. He glanced back at his twin, a hateful glint in his eye.

“I think I liked you better when you didn’t have a Quirk…” he said, his voice filled with malice and hate. Something tugged at Sora’s chest and was making it hard to breathe.

“Roxas, you don’t mean that, do you?” Sora asked, biting back the pain in his tone. Roxas opened the door to the twins’ shared room.

“I do.” Those words stung worse than a blow to the face or even the bone break he had suffered. Roxas had been suffering in silence this whole time, and Sora was far too blinded by bliss to realize that he was. Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes.

“Roxas! Roxas!” The door to their bedroom slammed shut.

* * *

The next day wasn’t much better than the night before. While Sora had been assured by his parents that this would blow over, that the two would make up eventually, he wasn’t so sure about it. Roxas had said very little to him that morning, though. That had to be something, right?

Sora followed behind his brother as they made their way to school that morning. The last thing that Sora heard Roxas say was bidding goodbye to their father before leaving the house. The walk had been spent in utter silence so far. And that was more deafening than anything. Sora picked up his pace so that he and Roxas were walking side-by-side with each other.

“Come on, Roxas. Say something,” said Sora, placing his hands behind his head. Roxas was still quiet. Why wasn’t he saying anything? Even a single word would make Sora feel better. “You can't be mad at me still, can you?” Roxas sharply inhaled.

“I’m not mad,” he said, keeping his tone flat and calm. He didn’t look Sora in the eye. His brother could feel the irritation radiating off of him. Sora bit back a groan.

“Yeah, you are. I can tell you are.”

“No, I’m not.” Roxas’s grip on his bag’s strap tightened.

“You are.”

“I’m not!” The raising of his volume said otherwise.

“Roxas, please. Just… what’s wrong?” Roxas started to walk faster, and Sora did the same just to keep up with him. “Are you still upset?”

“No.”

“Roxas~!” Roxas huffed, coming to a stop and bringing Sora with him. For the first time since their conversation the night before, he turned to face Sora.

“Look, I’m happy that you have a Quirk. I am. But excuse me for being pissed off about it.” Roxas continued on their walk. Sora followed. “I meant what I said yesterday, and I’m not taking it back. Not to mention, you keep talking!”

“That means you’re mad at me.” Roxas groaned, running his free hand through his hair as he came to another stop. Sora bumped into him from behind, not quite expecting the action. “Roxas?”

“We took a wrong turn.” Sora blinked. “We took a wrong turn. You were talking so much I didn’t notice.” Sora blinked again. He looked around the area. This… definitely wasn’t on their way to school. They were closer to the town’s clocktower than they were the school.

“We took the right… then a left… then another right…” Sora heard Roxas mutter to himself as he stepped forward, standing by his side. “We should be somewhere near the station.”

“What?” The train station was two blocks from their school. At this rate, they were going to be—

“Calm down. We’re not going to be late. There’s no way I’d get into U.A. if that happened…” said Roxas, perhaps sensing his twin’s building panic. “Come on, I think I know a shortcut.”

Sora let Roxas take him by the wrist. He didn’t want to say anything, out of fear that it would just erupt into another argument. Roxas lead Sora down a nearby alley, weaving in and out of back streets and narrow pathways as part of Roxas’s ‘shortcut’. Soon, the area became more and more familiar to him. Sora made a mental note to ask Roxas about how he knew of this pathway once they were back on good terms.

The pair were about to break out of the darkness of yet another alley when there was the sound of footsteps behind them. The boys froze in place before turning around. Behind them… Sora could only make out three men — all three dressed in black, hoods pulled down to obscure their faces.

“Where do you think you’re going?” said the one to the far right. Sora felt Roxas pull him back, a bright beam of light shooting out from his hand as he did so. The one who had spoken was pulled out of reach by the man in the center. The beam had missed. The man to the far right let out a laugh, only succeeding in making tension build in Sora’s stomach.

“I like a recruit with a little bit of a  _ spark _ ,” he said. Even though Sora couldn’t see his eyes, he knew that they were focused on Roxas.

“Don’t scare them,” said the figure in the middle with a deep voice. The brothers stood there for only a second before making their move. Roxas sharply elbowed Sora in the ribs, knocking him to the ground. all Sora caught was a bright burst of light in the corner of his vision before Roxas pulled him back up, a hand tight around his wrist.

“Come on! Hurry!” Roxas said. They weren’t that far from the school. And better yet, those three wouldn’t think about pursuing the twins out in public. The children of Pro Heroes, the two were a target for villains. They had to be careful when outside alone. That’s why they were to always remain in the public eye. It helped that their father’s agency was about a block from the middle school.

Unfortunately, Sora’s hopes were shattered when a dark hole opened in front of them, and once again, the two found themselves confronted by the three men. The crowd the boys had found themselves created chaos. They rushed back, screamed, and shouted for help. But the boys were stuck in the middle of it all, eyes on them as the area was cleared. They were so close.

“Running away?” the same man who laughed at Roxas’s attempt to fight back laughed once again. “It’s a bold move! But not bold enough!” Villains. They were villains. They were coming for the boys.

Before Sora could even process what to do, Roxas had spun his twin. With the momentum built, Roxas managed to throw Sora far out of the villains’ grasp. Sora rolled on the asphalt, getting towards the crowd and to safety. One of the bystanders pulled him to his feet.

“You okay, kid?” asked the civilian who had caught him. Sora managed to nod. He glanced back towards the scene. Who Sora had started to suspect was the villains’ leader held Roxas in a tight grip, a gloved hand holding his face.

“You picked the wrong guy to mess with…” Roxas said through gritted teeth. He reached up, holding his hands up towards the sky. “LET ME GO!” Sora looked away immediately. He could feel the warmth of the bright light Roxas emitted. It was a flash bang that he had been working on for the next year. A way to stun his enemies.

Sora carefully turned back to the scene. He felt his blood run cold. All of the villains had been stunned alright… some of the heroes, too. All of them were temporarily blinded by the flash… everyone except the villain holding Roxas. He let out a dark chuckle as the blood drained from Roxas’s face.

“You have so much power…” said the villain, who at this point had Roxas paralyzed with fear. “With a Quirk like that, I might be able to even bring the storm to her knees…” There was the cracking of the earth. 

“How dare you prey on innocent children!” Sora felt relief at that voice. As he had hoped, a few of the heroes working nearby were on patrol that morning. And they were close enough to make it in time to do their job. To save the boys. To stop the villains.

“Every hero in the city is on their way now,” said the Pro’s partner with a smirk. While that should have made Sora feel better about the situation, it only made the knots that had formed in his gut grow tighter.

_But… how long will that take?!_ _Help’s gonna show up… _He felt something burning in his body. The need to move, the want to fight back. Sora had a power he could unleash on the villains. He could help. He could get them to let go.

He remembered what happened that night on the beach. He remembered the pain, and the fear he had caused in his friends and family.

_ I can’t… I’ll hurt myself again…! Someone… Someone's going to show up! Someone has to… Someone… _ Sora locked eyes with Roxas. They had been together all their lives. The twins were practically inseparable. And because of that, neither needed to speak for the other to know what was going on. And the look Roxas had on his face… that fear.

Sora felt something inside of him take over.

“GET AWAY FROM HIM!” he shouted, his body rushing forward towards the villain on its own.

“No! Idiot!” shouted one of the Pros, “Stay back!” Sora ignored him as he tore the bag from his back. Using the weight to put some force behind it, Sora swung it around before launching it at the villain holding Roxas. The bag collided dead with his face. The unexpected attack was enough to get him to loosen his grip on Roxas. As the villain stumbled back, Roxas managed to pull away. He ran over to his brother’s side. Sora really couldn’t tell what was going on in his head as Roxas stared at him.

“What the heck are you doing!?” he shouted.

“I don’t know! I just… moved on my own?!” Sora really didn’t know  _ why _ he had run out there like that. He shook his head. “I won’t let them hurt you!”

“Who said anything about hurting him?” said one of the villains with a laugh. With a flick of his wrist, a dark hole opened up between the two. Sora let out a shout as it came at him. Before he realized it, he had been thrown to the other side of the area. Roxas was on the other. And closer to the villains.

“I got him!” The strongest of the Pros raced towards Roxas. In a flash, the leader stopped her in her tracks, grip tight on the hero’s arms.

“You think you can? Pathetic.” With a tight grip on her arm, the leader threw her back into her partner, making both of the pros fallback by force. Sora grit his teeth. He ran forward once again, feeling a surge of energy begin to rush through his veins. Before he could get close, one of the villains met him with his own force. He landed a heavy blow to his stomach. Sora dropped to his knees, the energy he had been building dissipating. Sora stared up at the man. From under his hood, he was met with a shining golden eye. He scrambled back.

“Eleven!” called out the leader. The only remaining member of the group gave him a short nod.

“Right.” Roxas tried to make a break for the crowd, a nearby building… somewhere. As he did, thick vines broke through the cracks in the ground. They wrapped around him, throwing him into the arms of the man who was called Eleven. Roxas kicked at the ground and the air, trying to break free from the villain.

“Get off of me!” he shouted, his cries cut short as the man pressed his hand to Roxas’s mouth and nose. Sora could barely make out the shape of something in his hand. Whatever it was, it caused Roxas’s movements to slow. Sora locked eyes with his brother’s as they started to shut. Roxas slumped in the man’s arms, unmoving and unconscious. The villain who had struck Sora went in for him.

“ _ ROXAS! SORA! _ ” The villain’s head snapped up. That had been his father’s voice.

“Two! Let’s go!” Two frowned, staring down at the boy.

“Consider yourself lucky, kid.” Sora was kicked to the ground. When he pushed himself back up, Two was beside his leader and Eleven. The latter had Roxas thrown over his shoulder. A swirling dark hole had opened up behind them.

“ROXAS…!” Sora watched as Roxas disappeared through the portal with the villains, eyes wide. It closed with a pop, as if it hadn’t been there at all. He found himself stuck to the ground. Sora couldn’t move. All he did was stare at the spot where Roxas had once been. He felt a cry get caught in his throat. Sora dropped to his knees, trying to fight back the tears in his eyes.

_ Don’t cry… Stop it… Stop crying…! _

Sora felt a hand on his shoulder. He felt someone help him to stand. He could feel himself shaking. He was being led away from the school, away from the crowds and away from the streets. Away from everything. His father took Sora back to his agency. Away from everything.

As soon as he was safe behind the office door, the dam broke. He couldn’t hold it back anymore.

“D-Dad…” Sora’s knees gave out. He dropped like a stone onto the floor, feeling tears pouring down his face. “I… I-I…”

_ Come on, stop crying!  _ He frantically rubbed at his eyes in an effort to get the tears to go away, to do anything to make them stop. Heroes didn’t cry.

“It’s alright…” Sora let his father help him to stand, moving him to a nearby chair rather than let him sit on the carpet. It was not alright.  _ Nothing _ was alright. Sora choked back his wanted cries for who knows how long. He was stuck in his own head, his mind repeating that moment again and again. The look in Roxas’s eyes, watching him fall unconscious, those villains taking him away…

He choked on another cry, covering his mouth to smother it as the office’s door opened.

“Sora.” Sora only doubled over as Cloud entered the room. He must have come straight from work. Sora could feel the static in the air, earning a small shock when Cloud placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder. The three family members were quiet for a moment, with Sora’s father and Cloud exchanging looks with one another as their son fought back the want to break down.

“Sora,” Cloud began, breaking the silence. “Last night, there was something that I wanted to tell you. Do you remember how I told you the other day that heroes are always risking their lives? If you hadn’t run into that fight…” Sora slowly lowered his hand.

“We would’ve still lost Roxas,” he said, his voice cracking as he said his brother’s name.

“Let me finish.” Finish? “You would have proven me right. If you stood there, you would’ve been another bystander.”

“It was my fault that he’s gone, though. I kept trying to talk to him about last night, and we made a wrong turn without realizing it. I… It’s all my…” Tears started to build in Sora’s eyes again, only to be hastily wiped away as he choked on his own words. “And in the end, I didn’t even do anything.”

“You did your best to protect Roxas without the use of your power,” Cloud glanced at him. “I shouldn’t have said what I did the other day. Even without that power of yours, you could’ve been a hero. You didn’t use it today, did you?”

“N-No, but…” Sora stared down at his hand. He almost did. It had been his only remaining option. HIs father’s hold on him grew tighter.

“You tried your best,” he said, “you shouldn’t be upset over that.”

“Every hero has stories told about them… how they became who they are. But all of them have one thing in common,” Sora looked up, listening as Cloud spoke. “Their bodies were moving before they had the chance to think about it. That’s what you did the other day. That’s what you did today. You proved yourself to be a hero.”

He proved himself to be a hero. He  _ was _ a hero. ...The hero Roxas was supposed to be. And now… because Sora couldn’t save him… he was never going to be.

Sora sat up, his eyes going wide.

“...Th… That’s it…” Cloud and Sora’s father exchanged a look with one another.

“What is?” his father asked.

“I’m going to become a hero… just like he wanted.” Now that had to come as a shock to both Cloud Strife and Squall Leonhart.

“Are you sure? We told you that being a hero takes a lot of hard work.” Sora nodded. This was what he wanted, he was sure of it. It had been his wish since he was a kid. But now… now there was something else that pushed Sora towards his chosen path. He stared at his parents, a fierce look burning in the boy’s eyes.

Roxas was gone. And now, there was no way that  _ he _ could become a hero. But Sora… Sora was still here.

“If Roxas can’t fulfill his dream… then I’ll do it for him. And if he’s still out there… if Roxas is alive…” Sora swallowed down something in his throat, “then I’m going to find him.”

_ No matter the cost, I’m going to save him! _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I CAN ASSURE YOU. ROXAS IS UNHARMED. He's not okay, but he's not hurt. For now.
> 
> Up next:
> 
> Chapter III: Training Days
> 
> also known as "Cloud, play Eye of the Tiger."


	3. Training Days

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sora starts his training to become a hero, pushing himself further than he thought he could ever go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know what this chapter means. Work out time! Time to whip Sora into shape! Cloud, play "Eye of the Tiger"!
> 
> ... in all seriousness, this chapter would work much better as a montage sequence, since it's a short chapter that takes place over a long span of time. So I apologize for that.
> 
> The following chapter contains some KH1 Riku because we need that to start a push towards KH2 Riku, and more importantly, the consequences of overworking yourself to the bone. The latter isn't too graphic, I made sure that it wasn't, but it is pretty gross considering what happens, so be warned.

Sora’s new conviction was burning in his heart. He had made it a promise. If Roxas couldn’t become a hero, then Sora would for him. He would make sure that his brother’s dream will be a reality. After a few days and some major convincing, he had gotten his parents to go with his wish.

Especially Cloud. His father may have been a Pro Hero, but his stepfather was the one who taught the new generation of heroes. And to make things better, he had taught at U.A. He had taught the  _ hero classes _ at U.A. And much to Sora’s surprise, he had promised to help Sora prepare for the entrance exam that he had to take in order to be admitted into the school.

About a week after the incident with the men in black, Sora let out a yawn as he followed Cloud down the length of the sidewalk. He had woken him up early, at the crack of dawn, and told the boy that he was taking him down to the beach. Not even Sora’s father, who had been tirelessly searching for Roxas with the help of other Pros, wasn’t up this early. Sora bit back a groan as he rubbed at his eyes.

“Cloud? Why are we out here?” Sora asked, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his sweatshirt. There was a moment before he added: “...It’s too early!”

“You said that you wanted to be a hero, right?” said Cloud, not even glancing back at Sora. Sora nodded.

“I don’t get what this has to do with that.” The two came to a stop not too far from where Sora and his friends were attacked by that smoke villain. And like the rest of the beach, it was covered in layers of discarded and unwanted trash, ranging from simple wrappers to something as big as a tire or a refrigerator. 

“We’re going to be cleaning up the beach.” Sora let out a muffled groan, which still earned him a look from Cloud. “I did some research, and this place used to be beautiful. But in recent years, it’s become more of a mess. Because of the ocean currents, anything that’s dropped in the water ends up here. People have been taking clear advantage of that. We’re going to do something about it.” Cloud tossed whatever he had in his hands to Sora. He stared at it. ...rope. He had handed the kid a large amount of rope.

“Pick something heavy, wrap the rope around it and start hauling,” commanded Cloud. Sora let out another groan. When Cloud had promised to train him, he didn’t expect to be cleaning up trash on the beach. But still, Cloud was the teacher. Literally. With a huff, Sora got to work.

He took care of some of the small stuff first, filling up a few bags that Cloud had hidden on his person. Then came the heavy things. Sora had wrapped a rope around the one thing he managed to clear an area around — an old refrigerator.

But no matter what he did, no matter how hard he had pulled, Sora could barely get the thing to budge. He probably moved it a few inches in the past five minutes. His foot eventually slipped from the slick sand, letting the ropes fall beside him. He groaned as he pushed himself back up.

“You know, people move these things every day, and they don’t even have super strength,” Sora stared up at Cloud, who was now standing above him. He had done nothing but watch the boy as he worked all morning. And to make matters worse, the teacher had his phone out, snapping a photo of Sora in the sand.

“Yeah but…” Sora groaned again as he sat up, “you want to tell me  _ why _ I’m dragging trash across the beach? What does this have to do with getting into U.A.?”

“I want you to take a look at yourself.” Cloud pulled Sora easily to his feet. Sora did as he was told. There was nothing odd about him. Sure, he was a bit shorter than most of the boys in his class… and he was a tad slimmer than most heroes-in-training were… and his hair was an absolute mess of spikes that could never seem to lie flat… but he didn’t see a problem with that! “There’s no way for you to use your power without hurting yourself like you did the other night. I don’t want you to go to use your full power and have one of your limbs fly off.”

“So…” Sora glanced out at the trash-covered beach. “This is some sort of gym workout or something?” He guessed it was better than the alternative. Sora really didn’t want to have to experience a hospital stay like that again.

“Well, yes. But there’s something else.” Sora looked up at Cloud. “Most heroes these days are all about showing off. Things used to be different. Back then, it was community service that proved who the real heroes were.” Sora blinked.

_ Back then? Aren’t you only thirty-six? _

“The goal is to restore the coastline. For this section of the beach, anyway,” Cloud continued, gazing out across the beach turned landfill. “That’s step one.”

“All this?!” Sora asked, gesturing wilding to the mountains of garbage around him. Much to his dismay, Cloud nodded. “But… But that's impossible!”

“You still want to go to U.A., right?” Sora stared a Cloud before slowly nodding.

“Well… yeah. It’s the best school, isn’t it? You teach there, you should know.” Cloud responded only with a shrug. Wait, what?

“As I mentioned before, being a hero isn’t easy without some sort of power. It may be unfair, but that’s the reality. And U.A. is the hardest school to get into,” Cloud said as he slid his phone into his pocket. “So you have to prepare your body quickly so it can handle your Quirk, unlike what happened last time you tried to use it. U.A.’s entrance exam is a little less than a year away. Your father and I came up with a plan to help you.” In exchange for his phone, Cloud withdrew a series of papers. He held them out to Sora, who quickly took them…

_ Wow, this is detailed…  _ Everything planned out, even down to Sora’s sleep schedule. He started to wonder if his father and Cloud had done something along the same lines when they were preparing for their own entrance exams.

“If you follow this, then the beach will be clean in no time,” Cloud continued as he snatched the plan back from Sora. “This is going to be extremely difficult. Are you sure you’re still up for it?” Sora nodded.

“Yeah.” He had to work harder than anyone to get into U.A. ...he didn’t have much of a choice. Sora grabbed the fallen rope and started to pull once again.

* * *

And so began ten months of absolute hell. With Cloud’s workout in mind, Sora would be using different muscle groups depending on what he was moving. However, trying to balance that along with his studies was starting to take a toll on the boy. He was ten years behind everyone else, too. Sora was really far behind in terms of developing his Quirk.

Sora yawned as he tried to focus on the lesson in class that day. His mind began to wander.

_ I’m so tired… but I have to focus… I wonder if I could finish the clean up BEFORE the exam…  _ Right now, he only had a little over nine months until the entrance exams. If he rested two days in-between each hard workout then… he would be training for about three out of nine. He had to take sleep into account too, with a maximum of five hours… though, he could train on his own. That should help him focus… But if he did, he’d have to cut back on sleep… but training could help him catch up…!

Sora was cut short when something sharp and cold smacked him in the back of the neck. He whirled around, seeing a snake of black retreat under Riku’s desk. Riku was glaring daggers at Sora.

“Knock it off, would you?” Riku said in a harsh whisper. Sora simply raised a brow, confused as to what he was talking about. Knock what off? “You’re muttering out loud,” said Riku a little louder this time, “knock it off!”

Sora frowned before turning back to his assignment and his own thoughts.

_Don’t need to be so rude… What’s wrong with him…?_ Probably a lot. Riku hadn’t said much to him since that night on the beach. Just… just what had happened? Sora would soon get his answer.

As soon as the school day came to an end, Riku grabbed Sora by the collar. He dragged him, ignoring the shorter of the two’s questions and attempting to break free. Riku took Sora to the back of the building, and a secluded alley where the trash was kept. He threw the brunette up against the wall. Sora, finally free, stared up at Riku. That look. Why was Riku giving him that look?

“What did you do?” were the first words out of his mouth. Sora blinked. What did he… huh? “What did. You. Do?! That night on the beach… What the hell did you do?!”

“I uh…” Sora stammered, backing up until he was pressed against the wall. “A-Are you mad about that?” He didn’t see any reason why. He had saved them, didn’t he?

“...You… You had that power inside of you this entire time? Why did you hide it? Why have you this entire time… Why did you lie?!”

“I… I didn’t. I didn’t even know about this… my Quirk until a few days ago!” Riku looked him dead in the eye.

“I don’t believe you.” Sora sighed.

“Riku, come on. It’s me. Why would I lie to you?” What could he do to make him believe? All he really could think to do was to tell the truth. That’s what he had been doing this whole time.

“Because if you had a Quirk, you would’ve shown it when we were kids. So why now… why now are you…?” Why now did he have one? Sora wanted to know the answer to that himself.

“...I… huh?” Sora glanced around at the shadows in the alleyway. They were growing larger, moving slowly as if it were seaweed. Sora dug his fingers into the brick behind him. “Uh, Riku…”

“I don’t get it. Why did you…” Riku dug his hands into silver hair, clutching at his head. “If you have a power like that, why haven’t you shown it before?!”

“I didn’t know! I… can’t…” The shadows started to crawl up Sora’s legs, wrapping themselves tightly around him like a snake. “R-Riku…!”

“You didn’t know. You didn’t know?!” Sora only managed to nod as Riku’s tone took a turn. “How could you not?! I saw what you did to that villain. You blew him away, so why didn’t you know about it?! It doesn’t make sense.” Riku then gave Sora a look that was just as dark as their surroundings. “...Are you lying to me?”

“Riku, I can’t… I’m not… I would never!” The shadows began to wrap tightly around him, making their way up his arms until Sora could barely move.

“Why hide a quirk like that? Why lie about being Quirkless?!”

“I wasn’t lying…” They crushed his chest. “I can’t… It hurts…”

“It hurts,” Riku repeated before letting out a scoff. “A quirk that powerful can do so much! And yet you don’t do anything about it. You still act like the weak kid… But with a quirk that powerful you can become the number one without any effort!”

“I don’t want to. That’s your dream, not mine…!”

“With someone like you in the way, I don’t have a chance. You have a quirk so powerful that any villain doesn’t stand a chance…” The shadows made their way onto his neck. They began to squeeze, a thousand tiny needles piercing Sora’s skin, “But then it doesn’t make sense why you didn’t use save your own brother!”

“Riku!” Sora clawed at his throat as the shadows wrapped around it and him. Tears formed in his eyes. There was a moment. Sora could make out his friend staring at him. His eyes had gone wide with panic.

Riku relaxed his stance, pulling back away from Sora and glancing at the ground. The shadows receded quickly. Sora stared at his friend with wide eyes. Why did he say that? Sora already knew that. He had  _ tried _ . And Riku… the entire school knew about the incident and what it had done to the Leonharts.

“You really don’t mean that…” Sora said as soon as he caught his breath. “Do you?”

“I do.” There was silence. Sora tightened the grip he had on his bag’s straps. Biting his tongue, Sora pushed past Riku and ran. He didn’t stop, even after he left the school grounds. Riku’s final words echoed in his head.

If he had been quicker… If he hadn’t been so afraid… Even if it cost him his life or a limb, Sora wouldn’t have cared. If he had used his power that day, then maybe Roxas would still be there with him.

_ I have to go further… I can’t stop until I go beyond his expectations! I have to become a hero as quickly as possible… no matter the cost. _

* * *

And so, Sora put his own version of Cloud’s schedule in practice. He worked as hard, pushing himself to bulk up as quickly as possible. He studied harder, worked harder than he should have. Sora found himself pushing his limit almost daily over the summer and halfway through the fall. Of course, he did this behind his parents’ backs. Sora didn’t want to think about what they would do if they knew how far Sora was pushing himself.

Unfortunately, his own little plan came with a downside. It left Sora exhausted on the daily. He blamed it on staying up a little later than normal in order to study. That seemed to work. Until that November, with the exam only three months away.

“Come on, Sora!” Cloud called out, getting farther and farther ahead of him. Why was today the only day he had decided to make the kid run instead of moving trash? Sora felt his lungs burn, his legs screaming at him to stop. His vision started to blur. Sora could feel his breakfast from that morning churning in his stomach. It only took a few more steps before the boy dropped onto the sidewalk, his whole world spinning.

“Hey, look alive! Do you really want to give up now? After all that you’ve been doing?” Sora heard Cloud shout, as if he were far away. Sora tried to push himself up. His arms shook under his own weight. “...Sora? Sora!”

Sora couldn’t get up. He panted heavily, his entire body shaking. It burned. He began to cough, his lungs screaming for air. It was all too much. His coughing became harsher. His shaking got worse. His throat began to burn. He could hear someone running to him. The second Cloud reached him, the contents of Sora’s stomach came out of his mouth and onto the concrete.

The neighborhood was filled with the sounds of birds chirping, people getting ready for the day, and Sora throwing up onto the sidewalk. Cloud had a hand on his back, not saying a word as Sora gave into his nausea. It didn’t last long. There wasn’t much there to begin with.

“Sora.” Sora could make out the sternness underlying Cloud’s tone as he pulled the boy onto his feet.

“I…” Sora panted, wiping his mouth on the back of his sleeve. He wasn’t shaking as bad as before, and he did feel a bit better. But everything else… his headache still remained. He had to lean against Cloud just to keep standing. Cloud’s hand found it’s way onto Sora’s arm, keeping the boy steady. Sora didn’t need to look at him to realize what he had found out.

“You’re overworked,” said Cloud. Sora winced at hearing those words. “That plan we made was created with your body in mind. It was fine-tuned to make sure that this wouldn’t happen. Have you been sticking to it?”

“I… I…” It was over. He had been caught. Sora shook his head. He heard Cloud groan.

“You’re pushing yourself beyond your limit; this isn’t what we want! At this rate, you’re going to make yourself sick. For God’s sake, you already have!” Sora shook his head. He didn’t care. He had to go farther.

“I have to… I have to work harder… I don’t… I don’t stand a chance… if I don’t.” Sora swallowed down something forming in his throat. He shook his head again. “I want… I want to… to… I want to go beyond… So I won’t stop… I won’t stop trying until I can do that! I can’t… I have to… I promised that I would. I have to… I won’t let something like that happen again…”

Cloud didn’t have to ask what Sora was talking about. What Riku had said so long ago had stuck with Sora. He wasn’t about to let someone get hurt… he wasn’t about to lose someone close to him again because he wasn’t strong enough. Cloud let out a sigh.

“...I understand your concerns, but now’s not the time to try and rush things,” he said. Sora felt his grip on his arm grow tighter. With a small adjustment, Cloud began to lead Sora down the path and back home. “Don’t worry, we can get you back on track. I’ll talk to Squall tonight about rewriting your plan.”

Sora groaned… his father was not going to be happy about this.

* * *

So, the plan was adjusted to compensate for Sora’s derailment. And this time, his parents kept a close eye on Sora to make sure that he stuck to it. It wasn’t like he was going to try to go against it again. After that long talk his father had with him and that breakdown on the sidewalk, there was no way he was going to. Sora kept working in moderation, doing his best to make up for the damage that he had done.

Until the day had arrived. February 26th, the day of U.A.’s entrance exam. That day, Sora had woken up before the sun had even started to rise. There was still something he had left to do before taking that test. He left a note explaining where he had gone before racing down to the beach.

It had been his own fault that he had fallen so far behind. With the adjustment, there was no way that the beach would have been cleaned like Sora wanted it to be. It was like Cloud said. A real hero was someone who helped the community. What better way to do that than by finishing what he had promised to do?

Sora worked hard in the dawn’s early light. He filled up bag after bag after bag. He hauled all of the heavy and discarded items from the shore, piling them up next to the road to be taken away. And soon, as the sun hovered right over the horizon, Sora found that there was nothing left on the beach.

Standing there, looking over the clean sand and the sun’s beams dancing over the ocean… Sora couldn’t help but feel pride well up in his chest. He did this. He had cleaned this entire beach on his own. Sora let out a scream, his shout of victory echoing in the air. The sky was filled with his prideful yell, and the boy could not have been happier.

“He even went outside the area you told him to take care of. There’s not a speck of trash left…” Sora heard a familiar voice say. With his muscles shaking, he finally let himself drop. Two different sets of hands grabbed his arms before he could fall face-first into the sand. He had done. With only a few minutes left to spare, he had done it.

“I…” Sora choked out a gasp, swallowing it down as he beamed up at his parents. “I did it…”

“You did good, kid,” said his father. Sora’s grin only grew wider.

“D-Do you… think I’m ready?” He nodded. From beside him, Cloud took out his phone.

“Take a look at this,” he said, showing Sora the screen. It was the picture he had taken of him the first day of their training. “This was you ten months ago. Take a look at yourself now. I’d say you’re ready for the exams. But… there’s still a long road ahead of you. It’s only starting to look like you can do it.” Sora grinned. He didn’t care. Even if it was just the beginning, he had made it. Never in his life Sora would have believed that this would happen. He felt tears prick the corners of his eyes. “Sora?”

“S-Sorry…” Sora quickly wiped away the tears before the waterworks could start. “I’m just… really lucky to have you guys…”

“It was your hard work that did this, not ours. There’s a difference between being lucky and deserving,” said Sora’s father, a hand tight on his son’s shoulder. “One’s an accident, while the other is a reward. Never confuse the two. You’ve earned this.”

“Come on,” Cloud, with his partner’s help, pulled Sora to his feet, “you can sleep in the car. We have to get to U.A.” Sora caught sight of a faint smirk on the teacher’s face out of the corner of his eye. “Or have you changed your mind?”

“N-No!” Sora shook his head. “Not at all, sir!” With a bright grin and excitement building in his veins, Sora broke away from his parents. He raced towards the car that had been parked on the side of the road.

It had taken ten months of absolute hell to cross this bumpy road, but now Sora was ready. He was ready to become a hero… He was ready to take U.A.’s infamous entrance exam.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time:
> 
> Chapter iV: Throw Away Your Shot
> 
> Don't trust that you won't go from shattering everything to shattering nothing so quickly without actually using the power that caused such a breakage.


	4. Throw Away Your Shot

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for the U.A. entrance exam. The power burning inside Sora does something that he really should have expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't go using a power that nearly blew you apart and not expect there to be any backlash. Don't do what Sora does, kids. Take the necessary precautions.
> 
> This chapter contains violence against machines and broken bones. That's about it. Let's go!

It wasn’t until Sora was actually walking up to U.A. with Cloud that the worry started to hit. He had been so excited about finishing his training that day that he hadn’t had a chance to try out his power. He hadn’t used it since that April night. He didn’t want to have to go through the pain of shattering his bones again.

Sora glanced up at Cloud when he put a hand on the boy’s shoulder, bringing him to a stop. They were halfway through the courtyard.

“I’ll meet you back here after the exams, alright?” said Cloud.

“Okay,” Sora replied with a nod. He watched as Cloud walked into the front building, no doubt to go and meet with the rest of the faculty. As soon as the Pro teacher was out of sight, Sora let out a sigh that he didn’t even know he was holding. He rubbed his arm. His muscles still felt sore from that early morning workout. It was still worth it.

“Sora!” called out a welcome voice from behind. Sora whipped around. Both Kairi and Riku had just arrived at U.A. as well. The only one who seemed pleased to see him was Kairi. Sora… really couldn’t tell with Riku. His hair had started to grow out to the point it needed to be tied back. His bangs were no exception. Nevertheless, Sora waved to them as they approached.

“Hey guys!” Kairi stopped to greet him. Riku just kept walking, pushing past Sora and making his way into the building. Sora sighed.

_ He’s still not talking to me…?  _ Ever since Riku confronted Sora about his Quirk months ago, he hadn’t spoken a word to him. Sora couldn’t tell what it had been. He had only told Riku the truth. What was going on with him?

“Uh… G-Good luck!” Sora called out before Riku was out of earshot. Just because Riku wasn’t talking to him, it didn’t mean that he wasn’t talking to RIku. But still. Riku said nothing. Sora bit back a groan.

“Don’t let him get to you,” said Kairi, placing her hand on Sora’s shoulder. “Riku’s just worried about the exam, like the both of us. We just… have different ways of showing it.”

“Right…” Nervous. It was just nerves that were keeping Riku silent. Test anxiety. That was it. Kairi nudged his arm.

“Come on, let’s get inside. It’s freezing out here.” Sora simply nodded. The two began to make their way towards the building.

_ Nervous, huh? ...I’m beyond nervous… I have to remember all the hard work that I put in. It’s thanks to Dad and Cloud that I’m even here. I’m going to become a hero.  _ Sora, so wrapped up in his thoughts, had failed to notice that his shoelaces were untied. He stepped on them, letting out a yelp as he began to fall to the ground. He was saved by Kairi, who saved him at the last second by grabbing his jacket.

_ Or I’ll just die… _ Yeah, that sounded about right.

* * *

The first step in the U.A. entrance exam was the written test. The applicants for the hero course had been ushered into a large lecture hall, and each were given a copy of the exam. To Sora, this was the easy part. It was a simple test of academics that Sora had tried his best to study for. If he manages to pass this, it would be a miracle. The only relief he felt then came when he had answered the last question.

A few moments later, the tests were collected. Two teachers took to the front stage in the center of the room, the first a rather tall man and the other a well-built woman. It took Sora a while to recognize them from the distance he was at. That was one bonus to having a parent work at U.A. — Sora knew almost the entire staff. And they knew him fairly well, too.

“Alright, U.A. applicants!” said the man, Zack Fair. He was one of the homeroom teachers for the hero course, as well as a personal friend of Cloud’s. Sora kept his fingers crossed that he ended up in that class. “I want to start by thanking you for making it here today. At this point, your written exams are being collected and you will be sent off to take your practical exam.”

“As your application said, today you will be out on the training grounds undergoing a ten minute mock battle,” explained the woman beside him, Tifa Lockhart. She had to be the strongest teacher at U.A. and another one fairly close to Cloud. “As soon as I give the signal, each of you will head towards your specified battle center.”

“There are three types of faux villains in each battle center.” Zack gestured to the screen set up behind them. It displayed a map of the testing zones, as well as silhouettes of the fake enemies. Underneath them were a number, one two or three. The odd thing was that the last silhouette had no number assigned to it. “Your scores will be based on their level of difficulty, with each villain assigned to a different point value. Your goal is to use your Quirk to take down as many of these villains as you can before time’s up. If you attack any other examinees, you will lose a great deal of points. Am I clear?”

There was no response, aside from one person shouting out ‘yes’. Tifa sighed, crossing her arms and glancing back at the screen.

“Before you are all dismissed, there’s something I want to bring to your attention,” said Tifa after giving Zack a look. “As you can see on the screen, there is a fourth type of villain in these centers. That villain is worth nothing. It’s nothing more than an obstacle that we’ll be throwing in your way. My advice is to do what you can to avoid it. I hope you’re all ready to go beyond. And as our school motto says—”

“Plus Ultra!” both teachers finished together in unison. And with that, the examinees were dismissed. Sora swallowed something in his throat. This was it. He followed the rest of the crowd towards the practical exam.

* * *

Sora waited patiently with the rest of the examinees outside of the battle zone he had been assigned. He couldn’t tell if the knot in his stomach was because of his own nervousness or if it was because of the overwhelming excitement of being able to use his Quirk without hurting himself. he had trained almost a year for this. He was ready.

_ I will become a hero. I won’t let Roxas down.  _ The loudspeakers set up near the gate’s entrance flickered to life as the gates themselves began to open.

“Alright, U.A. students!” cried out a somewhat familiar voice over the loudspeaker. Tifa? “There are no countdowns in real life. So, go! Go! Go! You’re wasting time standing out here!”

_ Wait, what? _ Sora blinked. The entire crowd, excluding him, had surged forward through the open gate. He blinked. Oh crap, the test had started!

Sora raced forward, moving as fast as his still sore legs could carry him. Beneath his skin, he could feel energy spark. That feeling… that was his power, wasn’t it? It was just dying to be used. And after all the hard work he had put into getting his body ready to keep up with it.

_ Just keep calm, this is fine! You have plenty of time… I can catch up in no time with this power! _

And then, out of seemingly nowhere, a robot smashed through one of the walls. It skidded into Sora’s path, cutting him off from everyone else. He yelped, jumping back as it came towards him. Before he could even think about activating his Quirk, a bright something whizzed by his ear. It smashed straight hte the bot, destroying it.

Sora glanced over his shoulder. Behind him was a redheaded boy. He had to have been the source of that attack. He was creating a ball of stone in his hand, held together by crackling blue energy.

“Unless you plan to be my bait,” said the boy before throwing the ball at another nearby bot. It exploded on impact. “Then get moving.” Sora gave him a nod before rushing forward into the field.

“ _ Six minutes remain! _ ”

_ Crap!  _ Sora picked up his pace, running as fast as he could through the battlezone. All he found were already destroyed bots. The other examinees were racing around the center faster than Sora could process it. Their Quirks were reducing their opponents to rubble at the same speed. At this rate, Sora wasn’t going to have a chance to even take one down. All that hard work would have been for nothing.

Just as Sora started to think of what could have been a really good plan sure to net him at least a few points, a loud explosion shook the ground. All of the examinees, not just Sora, stopped and turned. A cloud of dust had erupted from part of the testing area fairly close to them. Out of the cloud, something emerged. Sora felt his blood run cold as he found himself face to face with the zero point villain.

Now he understood why Tifa had said to avoid it. The thing was bigger than the faux cityscape that served as the battlezone. With one large mechanical arm, it struck the ground. The road shattered under the force of the blow, the ground breaking apart and becoming uneven. As soon as everything stopped shaking, almost all the examinees turned and ran. That was the smart thing to do. And it wasn't long before Sora joined them.

“ _ Two minutes remaining! _ ” called out Tifa from over the loudspeaker.

“What?!” A phantom seemed to repeat those words. After everything… is this how it was going to end?! He was going to fail, all because he wasn’t quick enough—

Sora heard a cry of pain from behind him. He came to a screeching halt and turned. Not all of the examinees had escaped from the bot’s path of destruction. Kairi was pinned underneath some of the debris, and was working hard to push it off of her. Sora felt himself stuck in place.

His mind returned to that night on the beach. The feeling of smoke filling his lungs, hearing his friends’ muffled cries for help. The fear… the pain… He was about to loose his friends. The robot came rolling closer and closer. Sora found himself rushing towards it, his body moving before his mind could catch up. Energy surged through his veins.

Sora pushed off the ground. He was sent high into the air from the force of his kick alone, flying feet above the fake skyline. As he came closer and closer the bot, Sora grit his teeth. He thought about that night on the beach. He thought about the moment Roxas was taken away from him. He let energy surge into his arm. 

The boy let out a yell as he met the robot face-to-face. He swung. 

The force of the blow shattered the robot’s ‘face’. The head itself concave, collapsing in on itself and imploding. Sora let a grin take shape. He had done that?! He could do that! And the feeling… it was exhilarating. 

“ _ One minute remaining! _ ” Sora came back to his senses as Tifa’s voice rang out throughout the zone. One minute?! Wind rushed past his ears and Sora started to freefall through the air. He let out a scream, cutting it off with a hand over his mouth. He couldn’t panic. Not now!

_ Okay… I got up here… that means I have to be able to get down too, right?! Landing should be easy!  _ Sora went to move his body so that his landing would be easier on him. All he got was a sharp pain rocketing up three out of four of his limbs. Sora stared at his legs and arm. He recognized that pain… and they were bent at the worst possible angle.  _ Why are they broken?! Even after ten months of training… they still broke! _

He had gotten way too in over his head. He shouldn’t have attacked that giant villain. He should have pulled Kairi out like any sane person would do. HSora had been acting like a hero when he wasn’t even fit to be a sidekick.

_ Come on, Sora! Focus! My arm and legs are broken, but I still have one good arm. All I have to do is time this right… with a strong enough blow, the backlash will be able to cushion my fall! ...but I still have zero points! There’s no way I’m going to pass this exam! But I can’t die either!  _

Sora braced himself for the shattering of his bones. With his only remaining limb, he formed a fist, calling on his power as he came closer and closer to the ground. However, he never got the chance to use it.

Something like a bubble formed in his landing spot. It caught him, and Sora sunk into the flexible surface. He blinked. The bubble had slowed him down, and kept him from slamming against the ground by an inch. Wait… a bubble?

Sora looked around. Sitting on top of some nearby debris was Kairi, her hand outstretched towards him. He flashed her a smile, purely out of a relief. She had caught him in the nick of time.

Kairi lowered her hand, and the bubble popped. Sora landed on the road with a soft thud, his face pressed up against the asphalt. It hurt a little, but not as bad as it could have been. Sora pushed himself up with his good arm, glancing over at his friend.

_ She looks exhausted… but at least she’s not hurt…  _ Kairi was fine. And Sora had less than one minute to do something to get what he needed.

“Just one point…” Sora muttered out loud, digging his nails into the road. He pulled himself forward. “That's all I need—!”

“ _ Time’s up! _ ” called out Tifa over the loudspeakers. Sora froze. No… no, no, no, no. No! One point. That’s all Sora had needed. He shut his eyes, trying to fight back the tears building there. He had failed. Not only that, but he had left himself broken and unable to move once again. He laid still on the asphalt, wondering how exactly to explain this to his family.

He heard footsteps rushing towards him.

“Sora. Sora…” there was a hand on his shoulder. “Can you hear me…?” Sora forced his eyes open. He was met with a woman sitting in front of him, sweat making her brown hair stuck to her forehead and green eyes filled with worry.

_ Aerith Gainsborough, Quirk: Restoration. She has been gifted with the ability to boost one’s stamina, allowing for a rapid increase in the healing process. Because of her power, she serves as U.A.’s school nurse. _

“H... Hey…” Sora forced out, giving the school’s nurse a shaky grin. Aerith simply sighed, brushing the boy’s hair out of his face. He couldn't even begin to imagine how bad he looked.

“I was warned about your Quirk, but I didn’t believe that it would be this bad…” Sora heard Aerith mutter under her breath. It was okay. He didn’t expect this to happen either. “Just hold still for me, okay?” Sora nodded. He shut his eyes, letting Aerith’s Quirk go to work. A cool feeling washed over his body. He felt the damage to his body reverse itself, and his bones to meld back together.

“Are you alright?” Aerith asked him as soon as the process was over and done with. Sora could only manage a nod. He forced himself onto his knees. “Good. Okay, is anyone else injured?”

Sora sat there, letting Aerith pull away from him to tend to the other students. His entire body was shaking with exhaustion. He couldn’t stop the tears falling from his eyes.

_ Roxas… I’m sorry…  _ Sora had failed.

* * *

The next week was absolute torture. Sora had little to no choice but to wait for the results of his exam. He didn’t even know why he was getting his hopes up. He obviously failed. The only thing that he had destroyed during the practical was an enemy with exactly nothing and his own body.  _ Again _ . That had to be one of the worst things about his failure. The only reason he failed was because he couldn’t control his own power. At this rate, it seemed like nothing would keep him from hurting himself.

“...Sora, snap out of it. Sora!” There was a snap. Sora blinked. His father stared at him from his place across the table. Sora had been so wrapped up in his trainwreck of thought that he had zoned out the world around him. “Are you going to stare at that fish or eat it? You've barely eaten anything this week, kid. You have to try to eat something.”

“Yeah… I know,” Sora said with a sigh. He stabbed the food in front of his with his fork. “Sorry… Just thinking.”

“I told you, there’s nothing for you to worry about,” said Cloud, sitting next to Sora’s father. He hadn’t looked up from his plate. “You did fine.” Sora bit back a groan. That’s what he had been saying since the entrance exam ended and every day since.

“Then why don’t you tell me if I got in or not?” Cloud glanced up at him.

“Because, it would be unfair and an example of bias.” Sora could have sworn that Cloud’s gaze had gotten colder as he speared the food in front of him. “You’ll have to wait for the letter just like everyone else.”

“I got zero points and ended up with a broken arm and two broken legs.” Sora groaned, dropping his fork beside him. “If I failed the exam, spare me the pain and tell me now.”

“It doesn’t matter what your results were,” said Sora’s father. “We’re proud of you for trying.” Sora opened his mouth to reply, only to be cut off by a knock on the door. His father sighed, getting up to answer it. Cloud and Sora were let alone. Sora stared at him.

“Why aren’t you telling me what happened?” he asked. Cloud paused, a fork halfway to his mouth. “I know I failed. My Quirk wrecked me… again. And all I did was jump and throw a punch! I did only that, and… I…” Sora let out a sigh. “I still can’t control it…”

“...Sora.” Sora hummed, glancing up at Cloud. The hero was staring at him blankly, just as he had been since the end of the exams. “It takes time to master one’s powers. Time that we didn’t have. Asking you to control your powers in less than a year is like making a toddler run a marathon. You still have a lot left to do. I did say that it was the first step. Honestly, I expected you to break something.”

“You knew that was going to happen?!” Cloud calmly nodded, taking in the food that Sora had kept him from eating earlier.

“Yes, but it turned out alright in the end.” Cloud swallowed it down. “Right now, your Quirk is either all or nothing. Soon, you’ll learn to control how much power you’re using. The whole thing is simple. You already know what it’s like to use your Quirk at full power, right?”

“Yeah,” Sora rubbed at his arm, “and all I get are broken bones.”

“That’s not what I’m talking about.” Sora raised an eyebrow. “It’s the feeling you get from it, not the results of it. Tell me, when you use your Quirk, what exactly does it feel like?”

“Uh… Kinda like… this… whoosh throughout my body… my chest gets really warm and that just kinda… goes everywhere?” He paused a moment, trying to figure out how exactly to describe it. It was always this rush of energy that he couldn’t keep a lid on… how were you supposed better explain a feeling like that? ...wait, that was it! “Kind of like when me and Roxas tried to boil eggs in the microwave and made them blow up instead.”

“...okay, if that’s what you want to go with…” Cloud huffed, leaning back in his chair. “If you’re picturing that, then just think about lowering the wattage or decrease the time you put the egg in there. Just keep on focusing on the egg and keeping it from exploding, alright? Can you do that?” After a moment, Sora nodded.

“I think so…” He could try. But once the power was activated, he found it hard to control it. Maybe that method would help. He sincerely hoped that it would. Otherwise he would have to go through school with nothing but broken bones.

“With time and training,” said Cloud, returning to his meal, “you’ll be able to handle all of that much better than you are now.” Sora sighed, picking up his own fork.

“I can’t do that if I can’t get into the hero course…”

“If you don’t get into U.A., there are other schools out there.” Sora only hummed in response as Cloud continued to eat. He only poked at the fish. Cloud didn’t seem to understand.

_ It has to be U.A. ...it’s what he wanted. _ Sora stuck some of the fish in his mouth. Roxas had been dead set on getting into U.A. That’s where all the best heroes came from. That’s where his father had started out. That’s where Cloud had started out. That’s where almost every hero they knew came from. It had to be U.A. High School.

Sora lifted his head as his father returned, holding something in his hand. He returned to his meal a second later, shoving a forkful of fish into his mouth. He might as well try to eat something, even if his nerves messed with his appetite.

“Who was it?” Cloud asked, not even looking up from the table.

“No one, really,” replied Sora’s father. “Someone just dropping off something.” Sora paused, fork halfway to his mouth when his father held out what he had brought back to him. It was a letter. The wax seal holding it shut caught Sora’s eye as he took it.

It held the U.A. emblem. Sora was quiet. He dropped his fork, mouth agape. The hand holding the letter began to shake. Oh no.

“Go on,” said Cloud as soon as he caught sight of what the letter was. “Open it.” Sra swallowed down what he had in his mouth. His hand still shaking, Sora carefully opened the envelope. Why was he hesitating so badly? He already knew what was written there. He took out the letter and shook it open. 

_ Dear Sora Leonhart, _

_ On behalf of U.A. High School, we are pleased to inform you that after reviewing your scores for both the written and practical exams, you have been accepted into our Pro Hero program. Welcome to our hero academia! _

Sora froze as he read that paragraph over and over again. e read that word over and over again. Accepted. He… He had…. He had really…!? He heard his parents call his name.

“I… I made it. I made it,” a wide grin broke out on Sora’s face. His hands shook as he read the letter again. “I-I got in!”

“You did it,” said his father.

“I told you there was nothing to worry about,” Cloud added. Sora looked up at them. Both of them were smirking. Wait a minute.

“You… You knew?” he asked.

“I was asked to keep quiet about it,” Cloud said. Sora frowned. There was nothing that he could argue with that. Cloud leaned back in his chair before going on. “Sora, even though you passed the written exam, you did earn zero combat points in the practical exam.” Of course he did. He had broken three out of four of his… wait.

“C-Combat?” Cloud nodded.

“There were other factors we all took into account when accepting applicants. Shimizu came up to me afterwards and asked that she could give some of her points to you, as a thank you for saving her earlier. You inspired her.” Sora managed a faint smile. He had to thank Kairi later. She might have just— “However, I told her that you were fine.” Wait, what? “As I said, the test isn’t graded on combat alone. You did just fine on your own.”

“But I…” There wasn’t anything that Sora could think of that he did that could have gotten him a decent score.

“The hero course could not reject a person who put their own well being over someone else’s. That’s a trait of a hero. That’s why U.A. exists: to train those who risk their lives for the good of others. That’s why the applicants are graded on both combat and any rescues they perform.” Rescue? Because he… because he had saved Kairi and took down that thing, he… 

“While you didn’t earn any combat points,” Cloud continued, “you did earn sixty rescue points for taking down that thing. As the letter in your hands says, you passed. Welcome to U.A., Sora.”

It took a lot, but his life had been changed forever. Sora tightened his grip on the letter as he read it over again. Tears streamed down his cheeks. He had finally made it. He was going to be a U.A. student. He was going to be a hero.

_ We did it, Roxas. We did it... _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time...
> 
> Chapter V: Day One
> 
> Class 1-A finally makes their grand appearance! Alongside their teacher...


	5. Day One

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The new school year kicks off with plenty of surprises. Class 1-A's homeroom teacher may not be what she seems.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be honest. Is this what you were expecting?
> 
> I'll explain everything in due time. I promise. Sit back and enjoy the Quirk Apprehension Test.
> 
> Oh, I also should apologize real quick for not getting a chapter out last week. It wasn't finished yet, and I want to have consistent update days. I usually update all my fics on Saturdays if their chapters are written and edited. So keep an eye out for updates on Saturdays!

She hated having to watch the video feeds from the entrance exam every year. It was the same, repetitive show of children pulling off the same ridiculous stunts and hurting themselves in an attempt to be heroes. Why the principal made her attend the entrance exam was a mystery to her. He knew how much she despised it.

She sighed. Oh well. At least it was done and over with. Now she could go home and prepare for the new menagerie of children this year. The woman made her way over to the door, prepared to sneak out of the selection process for the classes. She would be fine with whatever students she got. Fair could handle her selection, just as he had done every year.

“Hey, check out the results from the exam.” The woman stopped at the door, lifting her head as she heard her colleagues talking. She glanced over at them. Why were they still here?

“The first place student barely gained any rescue points,” said Fair. Looking at the results, she found that he was right. How do you only get three rescue points but seventy-seven combat points? “The only person he actually helped was that girl caught in the rubble.”

“Yamazaki knows her, that’s why he jumped in like that,” she heard Strife chime in. Cloud Strife… right, his son was one of the new students, wasn’t he? Which meant there was the possibility that he knew the others as well. ...this year, she swore, the favorite card was going to be played. “He’s smart, too. While others were scrambling around, he kept a level head and focused on the smaller targets. He let them get in close before taking a large group of them down in one blow.”

“And meanwhile, our golden boy didn’t get any combat points,” added Lockhart. “Though, it's been awhile since I’ve seen someone take out that thing in one blow. I think it was that wind kid who did it last. You know the one I’m talking about right?” Strife sighed.

“Who managed to take that thing down in that past is not what I’m concerned about.”

“You mean his injuries?” asked Fair. Strife nodded.

“We trained since April for this, and yet…” Strife sighed, but the way it came out, it sounded more like a groan. “It’s still like his body isn’t used to his Quirk.” She froze in place. His body wasn’t used to his Quirk…?

“It just manifested not long ago,” Fair slung his arm over Strife’s shoulder, making the shorter of the two grunt. “Give him a while, he’ll get used to it.”

She didn’t need to hear anymore. The eavesdropper left. Perhaps staying behind wasn’t a bad idea after all. The gears of her mind were already at work. A boy with such an amount of strength… unable to control his power? A body that was not used to its own ability? ...that sounded all too familiar to her. Perhaps… No. Then again… That boy… Sora Leonhart.

She quickly caught up to the rest of the teachers that had left. Among them was the principal. She called out, getting his attention before he could leave. There was something that she needed to ask.

* * *

The acceptance rate of U.A. High School was small with only one in three hundred students making it in. A smaller percentage of that number were filed into the hero course. As far as Sora knew, there were only twenty-six first year students who were training to be heroes. A handful of those people got in through recommendations alone, with the rest coming from the practicals. Those who got in were split between two classes: 1-A and 1-B.

“I have to stop by the faculty office,” Cloud told him as soon as they entered the building that first day. “I’ll meet you after orientation, alright?” Sora gave him a nod.

“Alright.” Sora began to make his way down the hall while Cloud started to veer off in the opposite direction.

“Sora. It’s—”

“I can find it just fine! Don’t worry about it!” Sora picked up his pace, almost running towards where he started to think that his classroom could possibly be. If Cloud said anything after that, he didn’t hear.

Just because Cloud was a teacher here, it didn’t mean that Sora automatically was going to ask for his help…. even if he did know the layout of U.A. better than him. Sora dashed ahead, making his way through the halls. His eyes scanned the top of each door, looking for the sign that marked his own classroom. Where was 1-A?

Sora grinned when he finally found it. He came to a screeching halt in front of the door. He could feel his heart pounding in his ears. Behind this door were some of the most promising students in the country. Sora kept his fingers crossed that there was someone that he knew in his class.

_ Please let there be someone that I know…!  _ Sora didn’t hesitate a moment further. He swung the door open.

“Get your feet off of my back.”

“Are you serious?” Sora froze in the doorway. Seemingly caught in an argument with a horned-boy was someone very familiar to Sora, with a very distinct head of silver hair that had gotten even longer since they last saw each other.

_ Riku… _ Even if he still hadn’t said a word to Sora since middle school, it was nice to see a familiar looking face…

“Yes. I would rather not start off the year by having to tear you a new one,” said Riku. The horned-boy had his feet propped up on the back of Riku’s chair. He didn’t seem to notice who was standing in the entryway.

“Are you threatening me?” said his classmate. He finally lowered his feet, leaning forward to glare at him. “Watch your mouth, shadow boy.” Maybe Sora could just sneak in and pick a seat… wait, why were the only empty ones besides Riku?!

“I—!” Riku cut himself off the moment Sora stepped into the room. The moment Riku’s eyes fell upon him, Sora froze. His friend’s expression had turned to stone. To make matters worse, with Riku falling silent, the rest of the class did as well. And because he had been looking at Sora, now the rest of the class was, too.

“I uh… G-Good morning!” Sora cleared his throat, trying his best to hide the panic now flowing through him. “I’m Sora Leonhart. It’s nice to meet you!” And that only made things even worse. As soon as Sora’s name left his mouth, a sea of whispered chatter broke out throughout the class.

“Isn’t that the guy who broke all his bones during the practical exam?”

“That wasn’t just it! He took out that giant bot in one blow!”

“I recognize that spiky hair anywhere! SORA!” Sora jumped as someone shouted his name from behind. He whirled around, finding himself face to face with no one other than Kairi. Looks like he did have someone he knew in his class… and one with a friendly face...

“Oh, hey!” He stepped to the side, letting Kairi walk into the room.

_ At least someone here likes me… _ Maybe. The two quickly claimed their seats. Kairi tok her place in front of Riku, leaving Sora free to take the seat next to her. Sora wasn’t sure if being next to his friend made any better. He could stil hear the class talking about him. Kairi reached over, putting her hand on his shoulder.

“Hey, what do you think we’ll be doing today besides orientation?” she said as she did. “Did Cloud tell you anything?”

“Well… he was quiet on the train ride over here. He didn’t say much besides to be careful. But…” Sora groaned. Despite Kairi’s best efforts, he couldn’t ignore everything that was going on around him.

_ I really wish everyone would stop talking… and Riku would stop staring at me!  _ It was only the first day. Why was this happening now and not later in the year? It would have been a lot better and easier to handle then.

The door opened once again. A woman with short blue hair entered, the sash around her waist barely trailing the ground. There were a pair of aviator goggles nestled in her hair. A hush finally fell over the class as she walked up to the podium at the front. Sora stared at her.

“Welcome to U.A. High School’s Hero Course. it took you awhile to listen, and I expect silence immediately when I ask for it,” said the woman as she turned to the class. There was a small, gentle smile on her face. “My name is Aqua Caelum. I'll be your homeroom teacher.” Sora only continued to stare.

_ Who is she? She has to be a Pro, right? All the teachers here are. But… I can’t figure out who she is.  _ The fact that Sora knew almost the entire staff made this all the more frustrating. Why didn’t he recognize her?! Even with that hair color, Sora should have been able to pin her identity down!

“Alright, let’s get to it,” said Caelum, her dark blue eyes scanning the students sat in front of her. “You all should’ve received gym uniforms before arriving at U.A. I want you to put those on and meet me outside. Am I clear? If you need to, the restrooms are down the hall and to the left.” Sora raised a brow. The class arose in slight chatter, each of them trying to figure out what exactly was going on.

_ Our gym uniforms…?  _ Sora thought to himself as he retrieved his own from his bag. Why did they need them?

* * *

Cloud could have sworn that the U.A. orientation assembly got more and more tedious every year. He guessed it had something to do with the fact that they rarely ever changed it. A few words were switched out here and there, but overall it was the same. Cloud muttered a few choice words under his breath. Why couldn’t they change it to reflect the current times?

He gazed out at the students seated in front of him. They were all there with a plan in mind. Some would go on to work in business, whether it be creating and selling gadgets to help the Pros or managing the behind the scenes aspects of the agencies. A few would be normal and bound for college. For the students that Cloud taught, they were on the track that U.A. was famous for. They were going to become Pro Heroes.

U.A. didn’t follow the normal academic course. The two classes of first year heroes were soon going to learn that. You had to be careful with your teachers, homeroom especially. If you get the wrong homeroom teacher, your life can easily be made into a living hell. Cloud had found that out the hard way during his own years as a student.

Speaking of which, Cloud found himself staring at the first year heroes classes. Only one was present, with their teacher standing next to Cloud himself. He had to wonder where Class 1-A had gone. But as Cloud observed Class 1-B, he noticed that a certain boy with unmistakable spiky brown hair was missing.

_ That’s strange… Sora didn’t get lost, did he?  _ Cloud could have sworn that Sora was placed into Zack’s class. He had to have been. It only made sense for him to be placed with someone he knew. Someone that he was comfortable with.

“Looking for Sora?” Cloud glanced over at his co-worker, who went rigid under his electrifying gaze. Zack let out a nervous laugh. “S-Sorry, just thought you already knew.”

“Already knew what?” Cloud asked, a brow raised.

“He has Caelum as his teacher.” Cloud choked on air. “After seeing his performance, she asked the principal that he be placed in her class.”

“She did what?”

“You heard me, Cloud. I guess since she is close to him, the principal let her. Talk about bias…” Cloud merely hummed in response as the gears of his mind went to work.

That woman was nothing more than an enigma to all of U.A., with the only exception being the principal. Cloud barely knew a thing about her. All he knew was that she hated the media with an unexplainable burning passion that, in all ten years of working with her, he still couldn’t understand. Cloud stayed out of the spotlight himself for various reasons, one being his own privacy. But her… she never stopped the press, even with how well known her disdain towards them was.

And then there were her teaching methods. The woman had done what she pleased throughout her teaching career at U.A. Rumors spread like wildfire, and towards her kids, she was incredibly hard. She pushed them towards their limits, and if they didn’t meet her expectations… well… it didn’t end well. Especially for those with powerful Quirks, much like Sora’s.

_ Knowing Caelum, she’s going to single out Sora from the start… _ He sighed. _ She already has. Why did she ask for him to be in 1-A? _

“Zack, can you watch my class for me? There’s something that I need to do…”

* * *

“What?!”

“Come on!”

“Lame!”

“What do you need to know about our Quirks for?!” Sora had to agree with the rest of his class. When their teacher had announced why exactly she had brought her students out to one of U.A.’s any training grounds; this one being just outside the school’s building.

_ A Quirk Assessment test does sound really weird…  _ Sora thought to himself, trying to piece together some reason that their teacher wanted to make her students do such a thing on the first day.  _ Didn’t she see what we could do during the entrance exams?  _

“But um… Ms. Caelum!” piped up Kairi, stretching her hand to the sky, “We’re going to miss orientation, aren’t we?” To their surprise, their teacher only shrugged.

“If you really want to make it, you can’t waste your time on ceremonies like that. U.A. is not your traditional school, which means I get to run my class as I see fit,” said Caelum, her arms crossed firmly over her chest. “You’ve all been taking standardized tests throughout your lives, but due to school rules you’ve never been allowed to use your Quirks. Yamazaki.” Out of the crowd, Riku straightened up. “You managed to get the most points on the entrance exam, am I correct?” Wait, what?

“Yeah,” said Riku. “Why?” Again, what? Not that Sora was surprised, but… how did he not know?!

“What was the farthest you could throw a ball in middle school?” Riku was quiet for a moment.

“… about sixty-seven meters, I think?” he replied, scratching the back of his head. Ms. Caelum reached into her pocket, pulling out a simple baseball. From where he was standing, Sora could see that it was covered in what looked like some sort of sensor. She held out the ball, using her free hand to beckon Riku forward.

“I want you to do it again, but this time, use your Quirk.” She stepped to the side as Riku broke from the crowd. Ms. Caelum led him to a circle drawn into the dirt, pressing the ball into his hand as she did so. “Anything goes, just stay in the circle, alright?”

Riku only gave her a nod before staring down at the ball in his hand. He glanced up at the sky before allowing a smirk to stretch out on his face. His shadow crawled up on his arm, turning the entire limb pitch black. With a turn and a yell, the shadow-powered arm threw the ball. Gasps shot up from the class. Even Riku’s had widened as the ball went sailing, landing far from the launch point. That had to have been at least over seven hundred meters.

“Thank you,” said Caelum with a satisfied grin on her face. She turned on her heel, facing her class once again. “All of you need to know your maximum capabilities. It’s the most practical way of figuring out your future potential. Today, you’ll take part in eight physical tests. Whoever comes in last will be expelled immediately.”

And with that, the class exploded in an uproar.

“What?!”

“Come on!”

“That’s not fair!” Sora felt every single protest of his own get stuck in his throat.

_ This isn’t good… _ It was as Cloud had said. Sora could only use his Quirk at full power as of right now. And if he did, his bones would break under the stress of it all. U.A. was supposed to teach him to control that output… How was he going to do that if he was expelled?! 

“That’s enough,” Caelum called out, her once positive tone becoming stern. The class fell silent almost immediately. “As I said earlier, I get to decide how this class runs. If you have a problem with it, you can go home right now.” What was Sora going to do?!

“That’s not fair!” Kairi piped up, stepping forward and breaking away from the class. “You can’t just send us home now. It’s only the first day!” Their teacher only stared at her blankly.

“What’s your name?”

“Um… Kairi. Kairi Shimizu.” Ms. Caelum nodded.

“Well, Miss Shimizu, tell me something. Are natural disasters fair? Do villains play fair? Are catastrophic events fair when they take out a whole city?” Sora heard Kairi swallow down something. She shuffled back into the rest of the group, her hands behind her back.

“I… uh…” Kairi shook her head. “N-No, ma’am.”

“This world is full of unfairness, and it’s a hero’s job to combat that. In order to be a Pro, you’ll have to push yourself to the brink of your physical limitations. U.A. will not hesitate to throw everything that it can at you.” Their teacher smirked, crossing her arms over her chest. “So, as our school motto says. Go beyond, Plus Ultra-style. Got it?”

“Yes, Ms. Caelum!” chorused 1-A. After that speech, there was very little doubt that Class 1-A was going to be complaining for the rest of the day.

“Now then. We’re wasting time talking here. Let’s begin.”

Caelum led her class to the school’s track, most likely ignoring the few conversations that had sprouted up in that time period. As soon as they arrived, she explained what the first test would be: a simple race down on length to test their speed. It was only a hundred meters. It couldn’t have been that hard... right?

“Ali and Corona! You two are up first. Take your mark.” called Ms. Caelum from the end of the track. A black-haired boy and a girl with an incredibly long, thick blonde braid stepped up to the starting line. “Ready? Go!”

Ms. Caelum blew the whistle that had been hidden in her pocket. With the signal from their teacher, the pair took off running. The first to make it to the finish was the boy, who had arrived there in the blink of an eye. He heard Ms. Caelum call out his time. Just a little over three seconds. Sora sighed, slumping over and sitting on the ground.

_ Aladdin Ali, Quirk: Quickplay. The kid can move with a sudden burst of speed that allows him to run at least 400 miles per hour. Anything over 100 meters however, is a no-go, otherwise it’ll drain his energy! _

Sora let out a small groan, planting his face into his knees as the next group was called. He should have expected this, honestly. Speed-based Quirks were a common type that he had observed in the past. He shouldn’t have been surprised that one of his classmates had a Quirk like that.

“Hamada and Leonhart!” Sora’s head snapped up when he heard his name get called He scrambled to his feet, making his way over to the starting line alongside a small, black-haired boy. As soon as the signal was given, both boys took off down the track. Sora gave it everything he could, pushing himself to his speed limit.

“Leonhart,” called out Caelum, making a mark with her watch as soon as Sora crossed the finish line. “7.13 seconds.” Sora let out a sigh.

_ That wasn’t so bad…  _ It was a bit faster than in middle school, anyway. Maybe all that work Cloud had him do did something more than just keep his Quirk from destroying his body… or at least… shattering it. Sora returned to where the rest of the class was waiting as his teacher called up the next pair.

“Nakai and Pan!” Two redhead boys — one who looked like an imp and the other Sora recognized from the entrance exam — stepped up to the starting line. The smaller of the two let out a laugh.

“Nice try,” he said, taking his mark, “but stand back and let a pro show you how it’s done!”

“Go!” Their teacher blew the whistle. As soon as she did, the smaller boy took off flying down the track. Literally, he wasn’t even touching the ground.

_ Peter Pan, his Quirk: Flight. Just as the name says, the boy can fly. However, anything above a few feet makes the kid nauseous beyond all rationality. _

He had come in at around five seconds.

_ Okay, this is bad. _

“I wonder…” Sora heard Kairi mutter from beside him. In front of her, a small bubble took shape. She stepped on it, grinning when it didn’t pop under her weight. She bounced off of it before proudly nodding. “That’ll work!”

_ Kairi Shimizu. Quirk: Stable Bubble. She can solidify light into a rubber-like material to make a shield or some sort of stable surface to push off of. _

Kairi was called up soon after. Sora watched as she used her bubbles in the way that she intended. She pushed off of a line of them, propelling her forward faster than normal running would allow.

“6.15 seconds,” said Caelum as soon as the girl crossed the finish line. Sora sighed as Kairi bounced off her bubbles with a smile. Maybe using their Quirks had their advantage after all. “Finally, Triton and Yamazaki.”

Sora lifted his head. He watched as Riku took his place next to a redheaded fish-like girl at the starting line. HIs friend glanced at the sky above him and the ground below. With a smirk, the shadow underneath Riku grew longer in front of him, spanning the length of the track. 

“Go!” The moment the whistle blew, Riku took off down the length of the track, sliding across the shadowy path towards the finish as if he were gliding on ice.

_ Riku Yamazaki. Quirk: Shadows on Strings. Like a puppet master, Riku can control his own shadow, making it take on different shapes and forms. This ability works better in the darkness, so he has to be careful about the amount of light in the area. _

“Yamazaki, 4.31 seconds.” Four seconds?! Sora let out another groan, dragging a hand down his face. What was he going to do?! If he used his Quirk, then he would break something. And if he broke something, he would definitely be down for the count for the rest of the tests. And that meant… Sora glanced over at his teacher. He shook his head.

_ No! Snap out of it! You promised that you’d become a hero, and you’re not going to break it. Even if Dad and the others haven’t found him yet, I won’t give up! This is for him. I need to control my power… that’s all I need to do… _

* * *

The next test focused on grip strength. Each student was required to squeeze a device that would measure their strength. Sora swallowed down something when his turn finally came.

_ It’s just like Cloud said. Keep the egg from blowing up…  _ Sora shut his eyes and squeezed. After a moment, he opened them again. The device read fifty-six. He groaned. Well, it was better than nothing.

“You hit 540?!” Sora glanced over at his classmates, a few of which had swarmed around another.

“Dude, you’re a beast!”

“Don’t touch me.” Sora looked back down at his fifty-six. He groaned again. He could have broken the device if he tried hard enough… if he wasn’t afraid to break his hand, too. One broken one would get him expelled for sure. He couldn’t afford to. Not yet, anyway. It was way too early.

The third trial was a long jump. While a good handful of his classmates managed to leap flawlessly and get a decent score. Sora, however, stumbled and fell flat on his behind. And things only got worse from there. Sora watched his classmates as they performed better than him in the next test, too. And no matter how much he tried, it seemed like at this rate, he couldn’t do anything better than them. Not without using his power. As the fifth test rolled around, Sora realized that he couldn’t keep doing this.

_ This is far beyond bad _ … He had to come up with a plan. At this point, everyone had done well on at least one of each of the tests so far. That trend would continue in the next four tests. This one included. And this one was simple. He just had to throw a ball. Unfortunately, Sora didn't naturally have the strongest arm.

“Leonhart!” Sora jumped as his teacher called his name. “You’re up.”

Swallowing something down, Sora nodded. He stood, walking over and taking the ball from Ms. Caelum. He took his place in the circle. However, he found himself unable to do anything beyond that. He just stared at the ball in his hand. Dark clouds formed above.

_ It’s now or never. The rest are tests that I can’t use my power on… I have to do this now!  _ Sora tightened his grip on the ball. He felt the energy supplied by his Quirk surged throughout this arm. He went to throw it.

Even before Sora could let the ball loose, a sudden bolt of lightning struck far too close to him. He humped, losing his grip on the ball. The power in his arm quickly receded before it hit the ground. Sora stared at it, wide-eyed.

_ What?! _

“I’m sorry about that, but it was necessary to get you to stop before you wound up hurting yourself,” Sora turned to his teacher as she spoke. The clouds around the field began to dissipate. The only ones that remained were the ones hovering above Sora… and the ones Sora could make out in Ms. Caelum’s eyes. “The judges for the practical exam were not rational in their decision. Someone with no control over their power shouldn’t be allowed at U.A.”

The clouds… the sudden change in the weather… And now that Sora could finally get a good look at her… Her Quirk… There was only one hero that Sora could think of that had a Quirk that could control the weather like that. His eyes widened.

“You’re the Weather Hero: Rainspell!” There was a beat as Sora swallowed down something in his throat. “…A-Are you?” His teacher nodded, the solemn look she had on her face never once fading.

_ Aqua Caelum. Quirk: Storm. Aqua can control various forms of weather. Her specialty is creating massive blizzards and thunderstorms that can disable and disarm her foes. Or in this case, scare the crap out of her students. _

“You don’t have control over your Quirk, do you?” Ms. Caelum continued. Sora felt his body go stiff.

“I um…”

“It’s surprising, considering everyone’s bodies adapt to their Quirks in order to prevent backlash, but you… you don’t have that, do you? ” Her gaze narrowed as Sora was silent. He didn’t want to answer her. “What were you going to do? Break your bones again? Fight until you have to count on someone else to save your useless body?”

“N-No! Not at all!” That was never his plan in any situation! Sora took a small step back as his teacher approached him, the firm look in her eye never once showing signs of softening.

“No matter what your intentions are, with a power like that, you would be nothing more than a liability in battle. I see the same, reckless passion in you as I once did another hero. And he’s currently in the hospital, still unconscious. You’re worthless if you can only throw a single punch before you’re broken. I’m sorry, Leonhart, but there’s no way you can become a hero with that power of yours.” Sora was stunned into silence. ...She was right. Ms. Caelum picked the ball up off of the ground and handed it to him. Sora stared at it. “Take your throw.”

_ I’ve only got one chance… What am I going to do…? Come on… think…!  _ Sora had no control over his power, but that didn’t mean he could just give up. Letting that egg explode might be the only chance he had at staying at U.A. ...to keep the promise that he made. An idea came to mind.

_ It’s all I got… I have to try, no matter what! _

If he couldn’t control his Quirk, then there’s no way he could ever become a hero. He had been set back years compared to everyone else. He had to work harder than them. He had to focus on what he could do now, what he could accomplish now… and right now… He imagined the egg in the microwave.

At the last possible second, Sora felt the rush of power flow throughout his fingertip. The ball pushed off. He watched as it went flying across the field. He felt his finger snap. It hurt… but not as bad as before. His plan had gone perfectly. Maximize the throw… while minimizing the injury.

“See, Ma’am?” Sora raised his hand, clenching it proudly into a fist. He winced at the pain of moving his broken finger. “I’m still standing!”

And Ms. Caelum broke out into a wide grin.

“Leonhart…” There was a moment before the look faded, and his teacher blinked herself back into reality. “Oh. Uh… Nakai! You’re up.” As someone else took his place, Sora jogged up to his friends, holding his hand close to his chest.

“You okay, Sora?

“I’m fine!” At least, as fine as he could be with a broken finger.

* * *

After that, Sora fought through the pain constantly shooting up from his finger as they finished their fitness test. By the end of it all, he was absolutely exhausted. At least they were done… for now. Ms. Caelum had her students gather around her after she went over their results.

“I’ve ranked you all by performance. Best is at the top, worst is at the bottom. Since you all have a good idea of your standing, I’ll just project the list for you all to see.”

Sora kept his non-broken fingers crossed that the score he got in the ball throw was enough to stay out of last place. He scanned the list of names. Unfortunately for him, his own was at the very bottom. He felt his heart drop into his stomach.

_ I’m sorry, Roxas…  _ he had failed on the first day.

“And I’m afraid to say that I tricked you all,” said Ms. Caelum simply, causing Sora to snap to attention. She was smirking. “No one’s going home. That was just a minor ploy on my part to make sure you didn’t hold back in the tests. Sorry about that.” A sea of complaints erupted from the class.

“Should I have said something…?” Riku muttered aloud from behind.

“Yeah,” said Kairi, having heard him, “you should have!” Sora only sighed. Even if he wouldn’t speak directly towards him, Riku probably should have said something. Sora held his hands behind his head, listening to the rest of the chatter that his classmates provided in the background.

“That was pretty nerve-wracking, wasn’t it?”

“Nah, I’m always up for a challenge!” No. No, it was nerve-wracking. Not a challenge. Sora didn’t want to think about what would have happened if Ms. Caelum had been serious about expelling one of them. More specifically, him. With a simple click of a button, the results disappeared.

“That’s all for today. Go change back into your uniforms, pick up a syllabus and you’re free to go. The real work begins tomorrow,” said Caelum, shoving her phone into her pocket. Sora let out a sigh as the tension in the air dissipated. “Leonhart.” He looked up at his teacher. She was holding out a simple slip of paper to him. “Before you leave, take this to Aerith. She’ll fix you up.”

“Uh…” Sora took the slip from her. “Thank you!” Ms. Caelum only hummed in response and Sora ran into the building to catch up with the rest of his class.

He had managed to make it through the first day intact… mostly. But there was still so much that he failed at. To Sora, that only meant that he still had a lot left to learn if he wanted to be a hero. Oh well. That’s why he was here, right?

* * *

Aqua’s mind was racing as she made her way quietly back to the main U.A. building. She was running through her thoughts, trying to filter out her own feelings about this whole situation as she tried to make sense of it. There was no doubt about it now. After seeing Leonhart use his Quirk for herself… everything had become clear.

_ Ven… what did you do…? A Quirk like that can be insanely dangerous, especially for a kid. Did you know that when you did it? Just how… How does that boy— _

“Caelum.” She stopped as she rounded a corner. Hiding in shadows of U.A. was Cloud Strife. Father of the year. Aqua could feel shockingly blue eyes were narrowed and focused on her. “That was an underhanded move, and you know it.”

“How long have you been standing there, Strife?” Aqua asked, glancing over her shoulder at her fellow teacher. He should still have been at the student orientation. It had to have just finished up. There was no way that he could have made it here so quickly unless—

“Long enough,” said Strife, cutting off Aqua’s train of thought. “But I know you. I know your reputation. You expelled an entire class of students from the hero course last year without thinking twice about it. Anyone you deem unworthy gets kicked out. You were planning on Sora failing so you could send him home, weren’t you?”

“And so what if I was?”

“Why did you ask for him to be assigned to 1-A?” Aqua could feel Strife’s stare on her. She sighed. He didn’t need to know the details. They were hers and hers alone. But… the boy was his son. Aqua supposed that he deserved to know something.

“...Let’s just say that the boy reminds me of a friend I once had,” Aqua said with a sigh. It didn’t help that her student’s own sibling — whose image had been plastered all over the news after the year before — looked almost exactly like him. “He has potential, and I don’t want to see it go to waste. I don’t want to see him get hurt like my friend, either.” She flashed her co-worker a smirk. “Why so concerned, Strife? It’s a little early to be playing favorites. Save it for your class tomorrow.”

“You’re strange, you know that?”

“I do what I can to protect the next generation. That’s all.” She didn’t care about how other people saw her. All she wanted to do was protect people. To protect these children. Aqua came to a stop, turning on her heel and facing Strife as he opened his mouth again. “Shouldn’t you meet your boy at the front gate? He’s probably going to be there waiting for you soon.”

That got him to shut up. Strife only muffled a groan then, pushing past his fellow teacher before disappearing inside of the building. As soon as he was gone Aqua let out a sigh. She understood his concern, she did. She just wished that he wouldn’t pry into her business like that. After all… all Aqua was doing was her job.

And keeping a promise to a friend.

* * *

As much as Sora loved Aerith’s Quirk, he really wished that it didn’t make him so tired. There was always a price to pay for some Quirks, he thought to himself as he made his way down the steps of the front building. Like him breaking his bones. ...Sora would rather just get really tired than get nothing but pain, though.

“Hey! Sora!” Sora stopped mid-way down the steps. Waiting for him at the bottom was Kairi. He picked up his pace, reaching the bottom and her in record time. 

“How’s your finger?” Kairi asked as the two started to make their way towards the gate.

“Oh, uh… it’s fine,” Sora replied. He held up his hand to show her, wiggling his fingers for good measure. “Aerith took care of it. I just need to be careful in the future.” And control his powers, too, but that was an entirely different story that he would deal with at a later date.

“I like Ms. Caelum, but what she did wasn’t cool at all,” Kairi sighed, changing the subject. “U.A.’s the best school, so I have to trust that they know what they’re doing but… lying to us like that…”

“Tough love?” Kairi only shrugged.

“I guess.” She did have a point though. While Sora knew that some of the U.A. teachers were tough in their teaching methods (Cloud being one of them), what their homeroom teacher did was going a bit too far. ...he would have to ask Cloud about her later. Was she always like that? Maybe that’s why they hadn’t met until—

Something bumping into him knocked Sora from his thoughts. No, not something. Someone. A certain silver-haired someone.

“Hey, Riku—!” Sora stopped himself short as Riku cast a stone cold glance towards him. His friend moved his gaze to his bandaged finger. He scoffed, saying nothing. All Riku did was pick up his pace and walk quicker towards the gate. Finally, Sora felt the need to ask the one question about Riku that he was dying to know the answer to. “What’s wrong with him?”

“I don’t know,” said Kairi with a shrug. “I can’t get him to tell me. He always brushes it off.” Sora hummed. That… wasn’t unlike Riku, really, but the fact that he hadn’t blown up for keeping everything buried for so long was strange. It had been almost a year at this point. Why hadn’t anything happened yet?

“Sora!” Sora’s attention was drawn to the front gate. Standing there was Cloud, who probably had been waiting there for who knows how long because Sora had to go see Aerith. Sora waved to him. Both he and Kairi picked up their pace and went over to meet with him.

Sora had survived his first day at U.A. High School. Even if he did sort of fail in the end… and broke a finger. It was better than an entire limb. But at least he had friends on his side… for the most part. That’s gotta be a good thing, right?

Just what was up with Riku?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Up next:
> 
> Chapter VI: What You Did in the Dark
> 
> Someone finally snaps.


	6. What You Did in the Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Class 1-A's first lesson in hero training begins. Someone, after a year of bottling up anger and frustration, finally snaps.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who's ready for the beginning of the AU's Deku v. Kacchan?  
Fair warning, though. We don't get to that until next chapter.  
Happy holidays, everyone.

Besides training heroes, U.A. was still a high school. They had normal classes. For the students in the hero course, those were held in the mornings. So, despite being on the hero track, Sora still had to sit through boring lessons on subjects like math and English. After that came lunch, where all the students of U.A. — no matter the year or the path they were taking — would take a break before the afternoon began. And after that… it was the class that Sora was looking forward to the most and the least: Hero Basic Training.

This was going to be the class that taught them some of the most important aspects of being a hero. Such as how to handle villains and how to act when out in the field. Overall, it was tailor-made for the students in the hero course. It helped that the hero teaching it was one of the top ten.

Unfortunately for Sora, that teacher was also Cloud. After getting a look at his teaching methods over the past year… yeah, it put a damper on things. But at least he was prepared for whatever was going to get thrown at him… hopefully.

He didn’t have any more time to dwell on it. As the bell signalling the start of afternoon class rang, the door to the 1-A’s classroom opened. Cloud entered, and whispers grew among the class as he made his way to the front and center.

“This year is going to be awesome!”

“I’m getting goosebumps!”

“Settle down,” said Cloud, leaning against the podium that stood at the very front of the classroom. As soon as he had the teenagers’ attention, he turned to the board, writing their lesson plan upon it. “As hero course students, this is the most important class that you will take here. You will learn the basics of being a Pro Hero, and what it means to fight the good fight. And that brings us to our lesson for today.” He turned away to reveal two simple words. “Mock battles.”

_ Combat?! _Sora knew that this would have to happen eventually. That was the staple of the hero program: teaching the students how to fight. He just wished that it didn’t happen too soon. They hadn’t even learned any means of fighting yet!

“These costumes were designed for each of you based on your Quirk registration forms, as well as the requests you put in before the school year began,” continued Cloud, gesturing to the shelf full of numbered suitcases in the back of the class. Cheers erupted from the students. Sora felt a large grin grow on his face. Okay, maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. “Get suited up and meet me at Training Ground Beta.”

“Yes, Mr. Strife!” chorused the class, some more enthusiastic than others. Well… at least Sora finally got to wear the hero costume that he was so proud of.

If anyone asked Sora how he felt putting on his hero costume for the first time, his answer would have been the feeling of the fabric of the costume was weird. He brushed it off quickly, chalking it up to it being new. But he had designed this suit. Okay, he had designed a lot of suits as a kid for him and his friends, and this one… wasn’t exactly what he had expected it to be. But he had made it himself, and he was proud of it.

Tying his mask to his face, Sora raced to catch up with the rest of his classmates. All of them were dressed head to toe in their hero costumes. While like Sora’s, they had been designed by them, the were all made by a company that had a contract with the school. Theirs were state of the art and made with the students’ Quirks in mind. Sora’s wasn’t.

All he had was a simple-looking red jumpsuit that he had painted on details, as well as a mask in a similar color. Everything that made up his hero costume had been either made by his own had or ‘borrowed’ from pieces of his parents’ old suits that they didn’t need any more. Not like they would miss them. Or hopefully know that they were gone.

_ But it just means that it’s all the more special, _Sora reminded himself as he and the rest of 1-A entered the training ground. The whole thing was the same area in which Sora took his entrance exam — a fake city landscape.

“Sora! Nothing too flashy, right?” Sora glanced back as Kairi found him among their classmates. His face turned bright red as he turned to look at her. The girl’s black and pink bodysuit was very... “I wish I had been more specific. This thing is super tight… not really my style.”

“Uh…” Sora shook his head, “you look great!” Kairi flashed him a small smile. The two, along with the rest of 1-A walked further towards the center of the training area. There stood Cloud, dressed in his own hero suit and standing besides two, long boxes: one black and the other white. There was another, much shorter one held in his hand.

“Alright! What do you say we get started then, shall we? It’s time for combat training,” said Cloud, raising his voice to be heard above the chatter of the class. The students fell silent. The excitement for their first hero lesson hung above them.

“Most fights against villains that you see take place outside. However, according to statistics, most villainous happenings occur indoors,” Cloud continued once the class could hear him at a normal volume. “Backroom deals, home invasions, underground facilities, etcetera. The intelligent criminals stay hidden in the shadows, only coming out to strike when we least expect it. For this exercise, you will be split into two teams: heroes and villains. From there, you will fight in two-on-two battles against each other.”

“Isn’t that a little advanced?” asked the fish-like girl, her arm raised as high as possible.

“The best training is hands-on training. However, keep in mind that you’re dealing with human beings now. You must be careful when sparring with your classmates. Am I clear?”

“Yes, Mr. Strife!” choursed 1-A.

“Now that’s out of the way, let’s get down to the scenario,” Cloud smirked, leaning up against the black box. “The villain team will have hidden a missile somewhere in their hideout. It is the heroes’ job to stop them. They have two ways of going about this. They must either recover the weapon or catch the villain team with this.” Cloud dug into his pocket, pulling out what looked like a dirty roll of tape. “It’s called capture tape. It’s made from a carbon-fiber that is very difficult to break. You may notice that your homeroom teacher wears something like it. Both teams will be given a roll of this. In order to win, the villain team must protect the weapon or capture the heroes. Understood?”

Various versions of “yes sir” and “understood” from the class. Since they were limited on time, Cloud announced to the class that he would be drawing lots to determine the teams, with the help of the smaller box, which he helpfully stated had the kids’ names inside.

“Team A: Kairi Shimizu and Sora Leonhart,” Sora let out a sigh as Cloud went on to pair up the rest of his classmates. He silently thanked him under his breath. At least he was with someone he knew. Maybe that would help them win in the end.

“Alright,” said Cloud as soon as the match-ups were finished. He reached into the longer boxes on either side of him. “The first teams up will be…” He withdrew to balls, each with a letter imprinted on them. “ Teams A and D! Team A will be the heroes and D will be the villains. Everyone else will join me in the monitoring room to watch.”

“Yes, sir!” Team D… that was... Out of the corner of his eye, Sora caught sight of Riku stiffen from his place besides Aladdin. RIku glanced over at Sora and Kairi, both of them sharing worried expressions. Oh no.

“Team D, you have five minutes to prepare before the heroes are let loose,” Cloud explained. He handed out a few items to each team: a map of the building they were going to be in, small earpieces to allow for communications between each team’s members, and a roll of the tape he had mentioned earlier. “Ali, Yamazaki. I want you two to embody villainy in this challenge, but keep in control of yourselves. If things go too far, I’ll be forced to step in. Am I clear?”

“Got it!” said Ali.

“Yamazaki?”

“...yeah,” said Riku, giving a short nod. He hadn’t looked away from Sora.

* * *

This had to be the worst way to start their hero training. A Quirk like his was already seen in a negative light, and Cloud knew that. It wasn’t on purpose, Riku had to remind himself as he and his partner were granted access to the building that the training exercise would be taking place in. The selection for roles had been completely random. if things had been different, he would’ve been given the chance to show off what good his Quirk could do.

He hoped that he would have a chance to do that today, even though he was on the opposite team he wanted to fight for.

“I know it’s training and all, but it’s really weird to have to play a villain, huh?” said Riku’s partner, Ali, as the two found the room where the weapon they were supposed to guard was being housed. Riku simply hummed in response as he followed the shorter. Weird wasn’t exactly the word he would use to describe it.

His eyes fell upon the large, makeshift missile sitting in the middle of the room. Ali let out a low whistle at the sight of it. Riku started to prepare for the task ahead, fixing the small earpiece he had been given into his ear.

“Looks way too real,” Ali mused, rapping his knuckles against the metal. There was a slight echo. Lucky for them, the thing was hollow.

“So treat it if it were real. Don’t touch it,” said Riku, finally responding to something that Ali had said since they got here. His partner glanced back at him. “Tap it like that, and it might go off.” Ali let out a small laugh. The silence fell once again as the two prepared for the two that were bound to come after them at any moment. Unfortunately for Riku, it only took a few short minutes for Ali to start speaking again.

“Hey, you’re friends with Kairi and Sora, right?” he asked. Friends with Kairi? Yes. Friends with Sora? ...that was putting it loosely. “That means you know about their Quirks.”

Of course he did. Or at least he knew about Kairi’s. They had grown up together. He knew every strength and every weakness of her power. It would be easy for him to take her down. As for Sora… Riku felt a familiar feeling of irritation start to build.

Sora’s Quirk. That power he had suddenly manifested last year. Something that powerful and that strong… How was he able to hide it for so long? Why the hell did he lie about it like that? Was it some sort of act? It had to have been. Everyone got their Quirks when they were kids or they didn’t get them at all. For over ten years, Sora hid his power. That was the only explanation.

“Sora’s Quirk…” Riku glanced back at his partner, “what do you think about it?”

“I mean… you saw how he threw that ball,” said Ali. “He hurt himself, but it was really awesome, wasn’t it?” Riku rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, sure…” That was a lie. Seeing Sora uses his power… every single time that he used it, Riku only grew more and more frustrated with the boy. Had he really been lying to him this whole time? Was the whole ‘Quirkless’ this just an act? Just to get other people to pity him? What the hell was wrong with him?!

“You okay, dude?”

“I’m fine…” Riku forced out. He was not fine. The one person he thought he could trust… the one person who had always turned to him for protection, for anything. The one person who made him feel like he was a hero… Sora was nothing more than an irritating bug that had lied and crushed Riku under his boot the moment he felt like it suited him. He was far stronger than Riku with that power. And with that power… it ruined any chance of Riku being able to stand in the light rather than just remain in the shadows.

“_ Team A, your time starts now! _” Riku heard Cloud’s voice echoed over the PA system that seemed to be everywhere in the building. He grit his teeth. Balling his hands, he made his way out of the room, ignoring the calls of his teammate to come back. Riku needed to have a little talk with Sora.

* * *

To say that Sora was nervous about this fight was… well, it was accurate, but it didn’t quite sound right to him. Saying he was anxious fell into the same category. While this was a simple way to start combat training, there was one thing about the whole exercise that made him uneasy. Uneasy. Yeah that was the right word. He was uneasy.

“Does Cloud really expect us to memorize this map in five minutes?” Kairi asked, breaking Sora out of his stupor somewhat as she stared at the sheet in her hand. Sora could only muster up a shrug. “At least he’s nothing like Ms. Caelum, right?” 

“Uh… well…” Sora stammered, trying to search for the right words. He could feel his sweat starting to make his costume stick to his skin. He knew that the pairings and assignments had been random, but for Riku to be stuck on the villain team… there were plenty of problems with that.

“You’re worried about Riku, aren’t you?” If Sora didn’t already know what her Quirk was, he could have sworn that Kairi was starting to read his mind.

“Last time he said anything to me was when we were in middle school.” Sora sighed. That wasn’t the only problem the duo had to face. “Not to mention, his Quirk is pretty strong… especially with how dark the building is right now. And then there’s Aladdin, he’s pretty fast. With them on a team together, who knows what they could do?” Kairi hummed in response.

_ It’s moments like this I miss Roxas. Whenever Riku’s Quirk would get out of control as kids, he would just shine a light and help him keep it in check. But now… _Sora’s mind flashed back to that day in middle school… the day Riku confronted him about his power behind the building. He could feel the phantom shadows choking him again.

“Just means that we have to try harder,” said Kairi, folding her map in half. Had she memorized it already? “It’s a fated battle between rivals. Let’s win this!”

“_ Team A, your time starts now! _” called out Cloud through the P.A. system setup throughout the training area. Swallowing down any fear he could feel, Sora let himself move forward into the building. Both he and Kairi entered through one of the windows on the lower level, using Kairi’s bubbles to give them a boost up.

There were so many blind spots, and just as Sora suspected, the building was only light enough for them to recognize shapes and faces. the pair walked through the place's winding halls, eeking their way around corners to make sure that neither one of their classmates were waiting there to jump them. Especially Riku. Even in darkness like this, the power of Riku’s Quirk was made stronger. And too make matters even worse, only one half of team A could use their powers.

_ I still don’t have any control over my Quirk… _ Sora felt like if he used it now, he could end up hurting someone… or worse. They just had to win with Kairi’s bubbles alone. He had to use what he always had since they were kids: his head. Over the years, he had taken so many notes on the battles he had watched over and over. Here, he held the strategic advantage.

Lost in his train of thought, Sora didn’t notice the shadows growing around them. By the time he realized what was happening, it was too late. Riku rounded the corner, with Sora only being able to make out the fierce expression he carried. In the next second, the shadows around them extended out like whips. Sora jumped immediately, pushing Kairi to the ground and out of harm’s way. He winced as part of the whips struck his face while the rest hit the wall with an excessive amount of force.

“You okay?” Sora asked, pulling Kairi swiftly back onto her feet.

“Yeah, thanks.” Kairi replied with a short nod. Her face went pale. “Sora! Did he get you?” Sora pressed a hand to his face. Something came off loose in his hand. While the whips hadn't broken his skin, it did slice through something.

“It’s just my mask,” Sora tore off the remains of the mask, “I’m fine.”

“Sora! Are you afraid? Stand up and face me!” Riku shouted from the other end of the hall. Sora stood, feeling his knees start to shake. “Show me that power you’ve been hiding!”

Riku ran towards his friend, aiming to strike. Sora acted fast. He seized the arm Riku was throwing out. Before he had even the idea to perform some sort of counter, Sora put all the strength he had into throwing Riku over his shoulder. His friend landed with a heavy thud against the stone floor.

“I’ve been watching you since we were kids! I know how you fight! I’ve analyzed every single hero, you included! I know their strengths and their weaknesses. I wanted to be support, remember? Or did you forget about that?” There was a flicker of realization in Riku’s expression. Sora grit his teeth, shifting his stance and digging his heels into the floor. “I’m not the same kid I was a year ago. I’ve changed. From now on, I’m…” Determination burned in his gaze.

“_ I’m a hero! _”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For a better quality of the image in this chapter, take a look at the link below:
> 
> https://queen-ofsunflowers.tumblr.com/post/188833577211/those-costumes-were-designed-for-each-of-you
> 
> Next time:
> 
> Chapter VII: Sora vs Riku
> 
> Fights happen and bones are broken.


	7. Sora vs Riku

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the mock battle rages on, Sora scrambles to find a way to calm down Riku while Kairi tries to earn them a passing grade.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning. This chapter contains graphic violence, description of injuries and two teenagers (well, mostly one) beating the snot out of each other.
> 
> Who's ready for Deku vs Kacchan?!

There was a fury burning in Riku’s eyes that Sora had never seen before. He could already feel the shadows creeping around him like some sort of ghost. But as he stood there in front of his friend, determination running through his veins, Sora felt as if Riku was filled with nothing but darkness. Something felt wrong. He dug his heels into the floor, raising his fists.

“You’re going to fight me? Why…? Why do you do that?” said Riku, his gaze narrowing. He didn’t want to fight. Fighting always seemed like a last resort. “Just give up, Sora!”

“No!” Sora shouted. Riku should have known by now that Sora was never a quitter. He may go overboard at times, but he would never give up. Riku grit his teeth, pressing a finger to his ear.

“...Focus on defending the weapon, and don’t worry about me. I’ll take care of things,” he said into what Sora could only assume as the earpiece he was wearing. His attention fell back to Sora. The shadows around him started to grow as Riku grit his teeth. “I’ll destroy you!”

Sora only had one idea in mind. He dug into one of the pouches on his belt, wrapping what was inside tightly in the palm of his hand.

“Kairi, go!” Kairi only nodded before taking off in the opposite direction. If he could keep Riku busy long enough… Sora felt something wrap around his legs. Riku launched forward, using his shadows to keep Sora in place while throwing a kick in his direction. Sora threw up his arms to try and block it, wincing as Riku made contact. He could no longer hear Kairi’s footsteps.

“Do you really think you can fight me on your own?!” said Riku.

“I don’t have to!” Riku blinked, a brow raised. Sora revealed what he had hidden in the palm of his hand. It was the capture tape that Cloud had given to his team before the match began.

Sora acted quickly. He wrapped the tape around Riku’s ankle, giving it a sharp tug and pulling the boy to the ground. As he did, Riku countered in his own manner. The shadows were forced upwards. They threw their captive back against the wall. Sora rolled as they came at him again. While he had managed to dodge, he had also lost his grip on the capture tape. It was lost somewhere in the dark.

“I told you! I know your every move!” Sora pushed himself onto his feet. “You can’t win!” And with that last taunt, Sora took off into the building’s maze of halls.

“Get back here,  _ SORA _ !” Sora could hear Riku following after him as he rounded a corner. He couldn’t fight him at close range, and definitely not in the dark like this. He needed an open area with plenty of light if he wanted to win this one.

“ _ DAMMIT! _ ” echoed Riku’s shout from somewhere in the building. “You were tricking me for years by acting all weak, but all this time… all this time you’ve had this power!? Have you been laughing behind my back?” His voice and anger were practically shaking the whole building. “ _ SORA _ ! Where’s that power of yours now?!”

Sora let out a gasp, quickly smothering it with his hand. He thought about the last time he had a decent conversation with Riku. It had been back in middle school. In the alley. Sora tried his best to remember what he had said that day. ...he had been asking Sora why he had been hiding… why had been lying. ...Now everything was starting to make sense. Riku had thought that Sora was doing all of this on purpose.

Sora had to put distance between him and Riku. He could worry about what was going on with his friend later when they weren’t literally fighting. Right now, he needed to come up with a plan. Sora let out a sigh, racing up to the next floor. He turned another corner, leaning against the wall and trying to catch his breath. He could finally think.

At this point, Riku had forgotten about Kairi. It was strange, actually. If they wanted to stop them, it would've made more sense to send Aladdin out. After his performance yesterday, he proved that he was the fastest member of 1-A. Riku was smart enough to know that, so why was he…?

Sora thought about Riku’s actions. He thought about his behavior. It was like he wasn’t even thinking at all. At this rate, his shadows… The feeling of them wrapping around his legs came back to mind. They were tight, and the darkness was rising like a tide. After observing his friend’s Quirk for so long, Sora knew that meant his emotions… his anger was taking over all sense of rationality. Riku was starting to lose control. Which meant...

Riku had gone rogue.

While that might have been a horrible thing in reality, in this situation, Sora and Kairi could use it to their advantage. If they went against both of their classmates at the same time, the strength of their combined Quirks would certainly overpower him and Kairi. Not to mention, if Sora went after the weapon now, Riku was definitely going to follow. If he and Kairi tried to take on Riku together, then they would run out of time. As much as he hated having to face Riku alone, that was probably the best option for now. Kairi would go after the weapon, and then Sora would meet up with her once he lost Riku. Or captured him.

Knowing Riku, this was going to be very difficult to do. Sora swallowed something in his throat. He had to trust Kairi to get the weapon on her own. Right now… He winced at the loud crash not too far from his location.

“Stop hiding, come out and face me!” Right now, Sora had something to take care of. He started to run again. “Sora, you damn BUG! Come out here and fight!”

* * *

With Sora distracting Riku, Kairi was left to freely search for their target. It couldn’t have been too hard. The fake weapon that both Aladdin and RIku were guarding had to be pretty big. And upon reaching the top floor, Kairi found that she was right. The uppermost level was a single, wide room lit up by the natural light outside. And in the center was a large, rocket-shaped prop. Kairi crept up the rest of the stairs, ducking behind one of the many pillars in the room before she could be seen.

_ Finally found it! _ Now all Kairi had to do was tell Sora. Until then, she had to stay out of sight. She peered around the corner, doing her best to get a good look at her opponent before they could notice her. Aladdin, sure enough, was pacing back and forth in front of the weapon.

“This is so boring! But Yamazaki is perfect for the villain role, ‘specially with that power of his…” Kairi heard Aladdin mutter loudly to himself. Well, he wasn’t wrong. Growing up, Riku’s Quirk was constantly compared to being one a villain would have. “Wonder what was going through his head earlier…” Kairi heard him snicker. 

“I am the prince of darkness!” said Aladdin, doing his best to make his voice sound too much like Riku’s. Kairi felt a laugh start to form. “Stay here with the weapon while I go after Leonhart because—!” She couldn’t hold it back anymore. Kairi let out her giggle as quietly as she could. Unfortunately, it wasn’t silent enough. Aladdin turned, eyes wide and focused on her hiding spot. He dropped his impression. “Huh? Shimizu?”

_ Oh no.  _ Carefully, Kairi crept out from her hiding spot, her arms raised above her head. So much for being stealthy.

“Uh…” she stammered, usure exactly what to say or do next. “H-Hi?” Ali let out a laugh before clearing his throat.

“I knew you would come here when Yamazaki ran off to fight your friend! I dare you to try and throw your bubbles at me!” he said, returning to his Riku impression. “There’s no way you can catch me, princess!” Kairi stifled another giggle. Part of her wished he would stop that. The rest of her wanted him to continue. As she stood, Kairi reached for the earpiece in her ear.

* * *

Sora had his mind reeling. He needed a way to take down Riku. That was the only way to complete the exercise and win. But without the capture tape, there wasn’t much he could really do. His train of thought was interrupted when the receiver in his ear crackled to life.

“ _ Sora? _ ” Sora jumped as Kairi’s voice came in through his ear. Oh… yeah, he had forgotten about that. He pressed his finger to the earpiece, answering her call.

“I’m here,” Sora replied, keeping his voice as low as he possibly could. He peered around the corner he was hiding behind, trying to make sure that the coast was clear. “Find it?”

“ _ Yeah… and Aladdin found me, sorry. _ ” Sora bit back a sigh. Well, there went the stealth approach. “ _ He’s monologuing in this really bad Riku impression right now… It’s like… _ ” he heard Kairi snicker, “ _ really bad. _ ” Sora held back his own laughter. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind and focus on the task at hand.

“Where are you?”

“ _ The center of the fifth floor. _ ” Sora looked up at the ceiling. That was right above where he was. They were running out of time. At least ten minutes had passed. At this rate, he and Kairi were going to lose. But Sora wasn’t ready to give up yet. For this plan to work, he had to capture Riku. 

Sora stood, leaning around the corner. It was clear. Before he could even take a step down the hall, thick tendrils of black wrapped around his waist and jerked him back. They held him up off of the ground, dangling the victim in front of their master. Sora’s eyes went wide as he stared into Riku’s. 

Normally green colored eyes were now stained with gold. Black had started to creep around the edges of his scalera. Sora felt fear wrap itself tightly around his chest.

“Why aren’t you using your Quirk? Don’t tell me that you’re underestimating me, Sora. Why don’t you show me what you’re made of!” Sora let out a scream as Riku threw him against the wall. More specifically, into the door that the wall held. It burst open upon impact. Sora rolled into the room, immediately pushing himself up as soon as he was able to. The sight he beheld was burning in his mind.

_ His eyes… what the heck is that?!  _ Sora swallowed down whatever fear he could.

“I’m not afraid of you!” he shouted. He was afraid of something else. Riku let out a near primal growl, the black in his eyes taking over the white completely. The shadows crawled out the door as Riku approached Sora.

“Good.” Riku took out the receiver he had in his own ear. He let it fall, the object clattering to the floor. “Then use that Quirk of yours on me. Show me that power that you’ve been hiding all these years!”

* * *

Kairi could see the panic in Aladdin’s eyes as she finished her chat with Sora. Well… he was keeping Riku distracted, that was for sure. The speedster in front of her seemed to be having a hard time trying to get in contact with his teammate, muttering not-so-quietly to himself in an effort to get the other’s attention. While the lack of teamwork between the two was a major disadvantage for them, it gave Kairi just the chance she needed.

If Kairi could at least get a hand on the weapon, then she and Sora would win. She bit her lip and rushed towards it. It took her opponent a second to realize what she was trying to do.

“Huh? Not-so-fast!” cried out Aladdin. The speedy student rushed towards her. Kairi acted quickly, throwing up her arms to form a bubbled shield in front of her. Aladdin quickly skidded against the floor, trying to stop before he hit it. Unfortunately, that wasn’t what fate had in mind. He bounced off of the surface, landing flat on his back. Kairi saw this as her chance.

Kairi created another bubble underneath her. She bounced off of it, getting enough height to jump onto the one Aladdin had collided with. All she had to do was touch the weapon, and they would win. She pushed off, leaping towards the mock missile. The moment she tried to create a shield in order to break her fall, Aladdin had gotten back onto his feet. He rounded back, using his Quirk to get to the weapon first. He moved it out of her reach. As a result, Kairi bounced off her shield and hit the floor.

“Nice try,” said Aladdin with a smirk, “but you can’t win if you can’t touch it!” He faked another villainous laugh. Kairi smirked in return. There was no way he could keep that thing away from her forever. He had to run out of steam sometime. All Kairi had to do was draw out the fight until that happened.

_ It’s not over yet. _ Kairi wasn’t going to let Sora down.

* * *

Fear pounded in Sora’s heart as Riku strode over to him. Those eyes… Sora had never seen Riku’s eyes like that before. Something was wrong. Something was horribly wrong, he could just feel it.

“What’s the matter, Sora?” said Riku. For every step he took, Sora took another one back. “You look scared.” Of course he was scared. Riku’s Quirk was extremely powerful. And when he lost control... wait. “You’re still standing, that means you can still fight! Come and get me!” The shadows crept quickly and frantically over the walls. Sora reached for his earpiece.

“Kairi…?” She had to have been doing better than him, right?!

“ _ Not good! _ ” came Kairi’s reply. Oh, great!

“Sora!” Sora flinched as Riku shouted his name. The shadows around them were rising like snakes, moving erratically across the walls. They crawled around Sora as if they were a pack of hungry wolves. Sora was right. Riku was losing control. His eyes… His power had overtaken him or something like that. There was no other reason that Sora could think of that made sense.

“Riku, snap out of it!” Sora shouted. Riku simply raised his hand. The shadows peeled themselves off of the walls and surrounded their master. He had to get him to calm down. He had to do something to weaken his Quirk before…! The P.A. system crackled to life.

“ _ Yamazaki, stand down or I’ll stop this fight! _ ” Sora hear Cloud’s voice shout from the speaker. But Riku was too far gone to listen. In the next minute, Riku had rushed forward, the shadows around him following him like a cape and crawling around Sora in an effort to overtake him. “ _ Yamazaki!” _

_ I can’t dodge! _ Riku went to throw a punch at Sora. The brunette threw one back in an attempt to counter. If he couldn’t dodge, then he had to do something to keep himself from getting hurt, right? However, Sora’s effort was in vain. Riku slid around Sora, riding his shadows like a wave until he was behind him.

With a flick of their master’s wrist, the shadows wrapped around Sora’s arms and legs. They held him in place, crawling over him like rapidly freezing ice. He couldn’t do anything as Riku grabbed him by the arm. He threw Sora over his shoulder, throwing him flat on his back.

“You’re supposed to be weak!” Riku shouted. Sora let out a scream as the shadows shot up around him like a wall of fire, slicing through the fabric of his costume.

_ I can’t… _ Sora couldn’t beat Riku without his Quirk. Not like this. No matter how much he didn’t want to… Sora didn’t have a choice. There was only one way to bring Riku down now. Sora wished that his brother was here by his side.

“ _ RIKU _ !” Cloud cried out over the P.A. system. Riku ignored the warning. Even more shadows shot out, going directly for Sora. Sora himself rolled out of the way, scrambling to get to the center of the room. The shadows around him jerked, changing direction and acting without any sense of rationality as they went to grab their target. Sora stood as soon as he made it to his mark. The shadows flowed around Riku, whose eyes were practically glowing in the dark.

“Come on Sora, I know you’re stronger than this! Use that Quirk of yours against me!” The Shadows wrapped themselves tightly around Sora’s arms and legs. The grip was tight enough to hold him in place. He bit back a cry as they began to tear into the remainder of his costume, cutting into his flesh. “You’ve been hiding this power of yours for  _ years _ . What’s wrong, Sora?! Why have you been lying this entire time?!”

“You’re stupid,” said Sora, tugging at the shadows and trying to tear himself away from them. Was that what this had been all about? “I never lied to you! You’ve always been stronger than me… You’re better than me in every way. But that doesn’t mean I would lie to you about this!”

Riku stared at Sora. He felt the shadows loosen. It was now or never. He managed to press a finger to his receiver.

“ _ BOTH OF YOU STOP—! _ ” shouted Cloud over the loudspeakers in one final attempt to stop the boys. He was too late.

“KAIRI, NOW!” Vivid red energy formed in Sora’s veins. His arms glowed bright, the force of his Quirk tearing the remaining shreds of his costume to mere threads. With a mighty yell, Sora broke through the shadows that Riku had used to hold him in place. The light produced was enough to get them to loosen up further. But they didn’t recede quick enough. Sora redirected them, making the shadows shoot up through the ceiling and break it.

“WHAT THE—?!” Ali cried out.

“I GOT IT!” Sora heard Kairi call. That wasn’t what he cared about. The combined blow of the shadows and Sora’s strength and broken through the floors above and even the roof. Sunlight came streaming into the room. With the darkness they lived in, the shadows around Sora retreated to the corners of the room. Sora landed on his feet, both he and Riku bathed in the light of the day. The space filled with dust caused by the debris. 

Sora could feel a sharp, unbearable pain in both of his arms as his adrenaline faded. Riku stood there, blinking and rubbing at his eyes before staring at Sora.

“Is this… Was this your plan?” Sora heard Riku say. Most of his anger had faded… good. He was back to himself. At least Sora hoped so. All that was left was one thing. “To make me as weak as y—!?”

“I wasn’t… going to use it. I don’t have control over it… that’s why I haven’t been using it…!” Sora told him, his entire body fighting to keep him standing. The dust around them settled. The remaining tatters of Sora’s sleeves were stuck to his arms — both of them broken and dripping with trails of blood. At the sight, Riku went rigid. Sora was shaking. “I can’t handle… the backlash. But… I couldn’t think… of anything else. This was… the only chance… we had. We just needed… some light…”

He couldn’t stand up any longer. Sora dropped like a stone in water, collapsing on the floor as he stared up at his friend. Riku blinked a few times. With each one, the darkness began to recede and soon the gold had faded back to green.

“...Sora? Sora.” He let a grin form. He had done it. The boy’s eyes slipped closed, too tired to keep moving. 

“ _ SORA! _ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're officially at the halfway point for this fic! Woo hoo!
> 
> Next time,
> 
> Chapter VIII: A Method of Understanding
> 
> Riku gets some sense slammed into the back of his skull.


	8. A Method of Understanding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The mock battles come to a close. Sora and Riku reach a new level of understanding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the end of the Battle Trial arc, and Riku in his KH1 state. It's kind of rough going through the fight, since I mostly had Roxas fitting some parts of Bakugo's role. Riku is meant to be sort of a mixture of Iida and Todoroki. So I apologize if things seem sorta... iffy from here on out.
> 
> Have some awkward conversations to make up for it.

Riku stared, stunned by what had just happened. He blinked a few times, trying to make some sense of it. He… He hurt himself  _ again _ . Because of him? Wait, was he… shaking? Without much warning, Sora dropped to the floor. What was he doing?

“...Sora? Sora,” said RIku. No… he had to get back up. He should be getting back up. All the boy was doing was grinning. And now he let his eyes slip closed. The weight of what had just happened hit Riku full force. “ _ SORA!" _ He rushed over to his friend’s side.

_ Shit! _ Riku sat there, staring at the unconscious Sora. He had done this. He had been the one to do this. He got angry and lost control. Riku was powerful, and the dark made that power even stronger. He had always been stronger than Sora, he had always… Riku shook his head.

That was back when they were kids. Things had changed. And Sora… Sora was stronger than him. Physically… and emotionally. He had friends, he had strength. Even after losing so much, he managed to smile. The second RIku’s status as the strongest of his friends and strongest in general had been threatened by the slightest bit, he had lost it.

Only now did he see what it had done. Only now, after the one person who had been by his side as kids had decimated himself just trying to save Riku from the power that had overtaken him did he see it. To make matters worse, he knew. Sora knew his weakness. As strong as Riku was, Sora knew how to break him down until he was nothing. No matter what he did, Sora would always be stronger than him. 

And he would always put others before himself. Even if he got hurt in the end. Even if they pushed him away. Even if they pushed everyone away. ...even if he almost killed him.

Oh God, Riku almost killed him.

Just before panic could set in, Riku felt himself being pulled away from Sora. Cloud had arrived along with two small bots. The latter were putting Sora on a stretcher, careful not to move his arms and possibly damage them any worse.

Seeing Sora like that… Knowing he had done it… Riku felt himself start to shake. Cloud put a hand on Riku’s shoulder, perhaps catching sight of the boy’s growing panic.

“Riku, take a deep breath and calm down,” he told him. Riku followed through, doing his best to remain calm as everything that had just happened hit him like a ton of bricks. “You lost control of your Quirk, you realize this, right? If Sora hadn’t done what he did, you could have killed him.”

“...I…” Riku couldn’t finish it. He hadn’t meant to. He only wanted the truth out of him, that was all. But in the end… Riku stared down at his hands.

“I understand that you two have been…” Cloud let out a heavy sigh, rubbing at the back of his neck, “having trouble since last year.” Trouble was an understatement. “But that doesn’t mean you can let your emotions get the best of you. You let your anger take over, you lose control. That’s the price of your Quirk. I’ve known you since you were a child, you’ve always managed to keep calm when using your powers. What’s different now?”

_ That stupid… selfish…! _ Riku sighed. He thought about what Sora had said to him just before collapsing. Was he really not going to use his Quirk? could he not control it like he claimed? Was he really telling the truth? If he was, then… The shadows start to creep around him again. Riku drew a deep breath to try and calm himself. Anything to keep the darkness at bay.

“Nothing’s wrong,” Riku replied, short and sweet. Even if it was a lie, he didn’t care. Riku could handle this problem by himself. He didn’t need anyone to step in to sort out his issues. This whole mess was between him and Sora alone.

“Riku.” He hated that tone. It made Cloud sound more like a father than he should have.

“I’m serious.” Riku sighed. “There’s nothing wrong.” He walked past his teacher, heading towards the building’s exit. He stared at the shadows around him. It felt like they were crawling on his flesh like some sort of bug. The words of his childhood echoed in his head.

_ Just the Quirk of a villain, huh…? _

* * *

Ali and Kairi were far better than Riku expected them to be, even if Sora practically destroyed the building. In fact, they were acting as if they hadn’t been on opponents moments before. When Riku exited the building with Cloud, they were happily chatting away. Their conversation continued on the way back to the room used to monitor the students during the mock battles, where the rest of the class was waiting for them.

Riku could feel his classmates staring at him as he entered that room. He didn’t blame a few of them for shuffling back away from him. Either they were giving him his space or scared of the boy. Riku was willing to bet it was the latter.

“I hope you three have learned something from this,” said Cloud, returning to his teacher persona once more as he stepped to the front of the room where the monitors setup displayed the results, and Riku was guessing the battle itself. “And despite the results, the MVP of this exercise is Ali.” Riku raised a brow, glancing over at his partner for the exercise.

“Me?!” exclaimed Aladdin, sounding just as confused as Riku was. Cloud nodded.

“Can anyone explain why?” Riku caught sight of the smallest member of 1-A, a boy dressed in bright purple armor, holding his hand as high as possible. He was the only one willing to answer the question. “Hamada.”

“He’s the only one who adapted to the situation,” said the small boy, tapping a finger against the helmet in his hand. “Yamazaki lost complete control over his Quirk and almost killed Leonhart. And even though his plan worked, Leonhart had taken a great risk in breaking through the building just to weaken his opponent and bring him back to his senses. The backlash left him broken, making his injuries far worse then they were initially. Finally, Shimizu was unfocused and let her guard down. And if the weapon had been real, that stunt she had pulled to capture it would have set it off.” 

_ Wait, what exactly did Kairi do…?! _ Riku blinked, glancing over at the sheepish-looking girl standing beside him. Whatever it was, he really hoped that she didn’t pull that kind of stunt out in the field when they actually became heroes. ...And he made a mental note to ask her about it later.

“Ali was prepared, had a strategy, and even though he lost, never lost sight of the objective,” Hamada concluded. Riku heard his partner sniff from beside him.

_ Is…. Is he tearing up?  _ Oh… Oh wow, he was. Riku bit back a groan. There was no need to get so emotional about it. It was just a mock battle. Fake. All that mattered was what they did out there for real. He didn’t see any reason to get so worked up about it. Especially when they had lost.

“You missed a few things, but otherwise, yes,” said Cloud after a brief moment. “Let’s move onto the next match. Ali, Yamazaki, Shimizu. I want you three to watch the next few matches carefully, understand?”

Watch the other matches, Riku did. He watched as all of his classmates were paired off and sorted into heroes and villains. He saw how his classmates worked together much easier than he had with his partner. or with anyone, really. Even though the semester had just started and they all had just met one another, most pairs found it easy to cooperate with their partner as if they had known each other their whole lives. Besides that, one more thing stood out to Riku.

They were all stronger than him. And each could manage their strength better than Riku ever could. They were all in control of their Quirks and their emotions. It made it hard to watch, honestly. Every time Riku glanced at the screen, all he could think about was what had happened to him. What he had done. How he had almost killed someone who, after all the bullshit he had pulled, still called him a friend.

Kairi put a hand on his arm.

“You okay?” she asked as Riku glanced down at her. He let out a sigh, shrugging her off.

“I’m fine.” He wasn’t fine. Not after all he had seen his classmates do. Not after the fights he had witnessed. Not after what he had done. He was never going to be fine again.

“And that’s a wrap,” said Cloud, bringing Riku and Kairi’s attention to him. “Good work, everyone. You did your best. Aside from S… Leonhart, we didn’t have any injuries. You should be proud. It’s an excellent result for your first day of training.”

“Thank you sir!” chirped the fish girl who Riku swore was going to get hurt with how little her costume actually covered.

“Kinda nice to hear that after homeroom,” said Ali with a short laugh. “Caelum’s a bit of a buzzkill.”

“Good to know that I can bring that kind of positivity…” Cloud muttered to himself before clearing his throat. He pushed up off of the control panel, snatching up the flashdrive that held the results of the mock battles. “You all are dismissed to go back to your classroom.” He made his way towards the exit.

“Uh.. Mr. Strife,” said Kairi, breaking away from the rest of the teens to get her teacher’s attention, “where are you going?” Cloud stopped with a hand on the door.

“I’m going to go check up on Sora. Shimizu, I’m leaving you in charge.” And with that last note, their teacher left. Riku didn’t say anything. He simply stared at the ground. Sora.

“Riku,” Kairi nudged him with her arm. The rest of the class was starting to leave. “Are you sure that you’re okay?” Riku glanced over at the monitors. They were playing back footage of the class’s lesson. Of their fights. He caught sight of the one displaying their fight. Playing the video of him. A lump formed in his throat when he saw his own eyes. Those eyes...

“I’m fine, said Riku, tearing himself away from the monitor “You should be asking Aerith that about Sora.” He quickly left, following his class and not saying another word to Kairi.

_ And I put him there… dammit. What’s wrong with me? _

* * *

When he awoke, the first thing that Sora thought was that both of his arms were incredibly sore. He stared up at the ceiling and tried to move. He winced as he felt something shift in his skin. The needle of an IV had been jammed into the back of his hand. Both of his arms were bandaged.

Sora carefully sat up. He was laying in one of the school infirmary's beds. The entire room was cascaded in the orange glow of the setting sun.

_ What time is it…?  _ Sora heard the shift of a chair. Aerith had finally seen him or at least heard him moving from her desk. He smiled weakly at her.

The school’s nurse quickly went to work, using her resotartion quirk to repair as much damage to Sora’s arms as she could. Unfortunately for him, the damage had been extensive. Aerith could only do so much. Placing each of his arms in a sling, Aerith gave him the instructions to see her tomorrow morning before class started if he wanted to be able to use his arms again. Sora promised before making his hasty exit.

With the time he had been out, he had missed all of his afternoon classes. He picked up his speed as he ran through the empty halls and back to his classroom.

_Ms. Caelum is going to drench me. _Well, at least no one would see it. His classmates had to be gone by now. Hopefully his teacher was too. Then Sora could get changed, get his things and head home without any problems… hopefully. However, much to Sora’s surprise, he didn't find his teacher waiting for him behind the door to 1-A. Instead, he found his entire class. Why were they still here?

When the door opened, only one person had noticed Sora enter— a taller boy with scruffy brown hair tied back at the nape of his neck. He grinned upon seeing the boy. 

“Hey, it’s Leonhart!” he said. Drawing the attention of the class who had just returned. The dirty blonde boy next to him waved at him.

“Good to see you back in action, hero!” said the boy. Sora raised a brow as almost all of his classmates crowded around to greet him. He had barely taken a step into the room.

“Don’t know what you were saying doing that match,” continued the brunette, “but you really got into it, huh?” Well… he really didn’t have a choice, but—

“I can’t believe you held up against that! I mean, Yamazaki’s really strong when he doesn't hold back!”

“You did a great job dodging!” piped up a girl with short, light brown hair. Sora only felt his confusion get worse. Aladdin came up, making his way through so that he was visible.

“Because you guys didn’t hold back during our match, no one else held back during theirs,” Aladdin explained. Okay… that didn’t explain much. Sora let out a short, nervous laugh before taking a small step back. That got his classmates to give him a bit of space. The two boys in the front exchanged a look with each other. The one who had originally caught sight of him slung his arm over Sora’s shoulder.

“Name’s Flynn Rider!” he said. Sora let out a short sigh. At least now he was getting his classmates names. ...In hindsight, he should have gotten them earlier. Aladdin leaned in a little closer to Sora.

“His name is Eugene,” he told him, making the one behind him wrap his arms around him to pull him back.

“Al!” Eugene exclaimed, messing with Aladdin’s dark hair as some sort of revenge for letting his name loose. Aladdin only laughed, easily slipping out of Eugene’s hold and dashing around the classroom with the boy hot on his tail.

“I’m Tidus,” said the dirty-blonde boy as soon as Sora was able to focus once again on the rest of his class and not just the two messing around. The energetic, short-haired girl leaned up against his shoulder, holding out her hand to Sora.

“And I’m Selphie!” she said. “And your dodging was awesome!” Sora tapped her hand, doing his best to shake it. An impish looking boy (if Sora remembered right from the quirk assessment, he was the one with the flight Quirk) jumped between them.

“And I’m—” he was cut off by two redheads stepping in front of him. One of them was the girl with fish-like features covering her body — scales, webbed wingers and fins. Even her ars grew a darker shade of green as they reached the tips of her fingers. The other was a boy with a deep tan, short red hair and a very strong build. It was the same person who saved Sora during the entrance exam.

“Ariel Triton,” said the fish girl. “Happy to meet you!”

“Name’s Wakka,” added the boy. There was a flash and a smash as one of the desks was turned over. Aladdin had returned to Sora’s side and far out of Eugene’s reach.

“And you know me already. Aladdin Ali,” said Aladdin, clapping a hand on Sora’s shoulder. He gestured to the two girls who hadn’t jumped up the moment Sora entered the room — a blonde with incredibly long hair that was thickly braided down her back, and one who had patches of glimmering red scales over her body, bright blue horns and a tail all reminiscent of a dragon’s. “Over there’s Rapunzel—” the blonde waved— “and Mulan.” The dragon girl simply nodded in his direction.

“Um…” Sora let out another sheepish laugh, “hi, guys.” He really wished that he could give a wave. The imp like boy who had been trying to get a word in the entire time shot up in the air a few feet, coming back down on Eugene’s shoulders as he rejoined the group.

“And I’m Peter!” he said, finally getting his introduction out of the way.

“Hey, get off of me!” Eugene hissed, throwing the boy off his shoulders. Peter managed to activate his quirk before any real damage could be done, hovering a few inches off the ground for a moment before landing flat on his back.

“Will you all shut up?” growled the horned boy who sat behind Riku’s desk as Peter got to his feet once again. That kid had to be the only one withdrawn from the rest of the class. Mulan merely snickered in his direction.

“You need to relax, Adam,” said the dragon girl, Mulan. “Why not come over here are being social with the rest of us?” Adam merely huffed, sinking further into his seat.

“No thanks.” Mulan frowned, but did nothing to argue. Rapunzel, from her place sitting atop her desk, swung her legs and hummed.

“Hey, where’s Hiro?” she asked. Mulan only replied with a shrug. as if on cue, the classroom’s back door opened. A small boy with dark hair entered, carrying a heavy amount of books. To Sora, that had to be Hiro. There was no one left. And right by his side came Kairi, carrying a stack similar to his own. As soon as the girl caught sight of Sora, she almost dropped them.

“Sora!” Kairi dropped the books on the desk. From the back of the class, she came rushing up to him. She barrelled into Sora, wrapping her arms tightly around him. Sora winced as pain shot up his own. Kairi backed off immediately when she heard his cry of pain. “S-Sorry! I thought Aerith…”

“Stamina.” Kairi nodded. Sora took a quick glance around the classroom. Besides their teacher, everyone seemed to be here. Did they all wait for him? To see if he was okay? But something was off. Not everyone had waited. “Hey, where’s Riku?”

The class fell oddly quiet. No one even dared to look at him. What? What had he said that was wrong? Sora never got the chance to finish what he was trying to tell Riku earlier. He had passed out before he could. He wanted the chance to explain everything.

“We tried to stop him from leaving, but…” said Kairi, breaking the silence and finally meeting Sora’s gaze, “you know how stubborn he can be.” Sora’s eyes widened. No… no! He could just let Riku leave like that! After what had happened, there was something that Sora needed to do. It had to be today. He couldn’t wait another moment.

Sora sprinted out of the room. As much as his legs, still weak from the healing Aerith had to do and all the running he did earlier, wanted him to stop, Sora kept pushing himself to keep going. He had to catch up. He hoped that Riku hadn’t left the school grounds.

His wish was granted as he pushed the front door open. There was Riku, walking down the pathway to the school’s front gate. Sora had caught him just in time. And he wasn’t going to let him get away that easily.

“ _ RIKU!” _ Sora called out. “PLEASE, WAIT!” Sora ran up to the silver-haired boy, who had come to a stop the moment he had heard his name called. “I want to talk to you. Please, just… say something!” Riku sighed.

“What do you want?” he said, turning only halfway to face him. He looked so tired. Ater everything that had happened… Sora had a chance now. Riku sighed again after a moment. He started to turn to leave.

“I meant what I said. I haven’t been lying. I wasn’t hiding my Quirk from you because I didn’t get it until last year.” Riku raised a brow, turning back to Sora. The brunette sighed. Well, he had his attention now. He couldn’t waste it. Not if he wanted his friend back. “I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true. I don’t have any control over my power. I don’t know why, I just don’t. But I’m trying. I didn’t want to use it earlier because I didn’t want to hurt you. But it was the only way I could think of to get some sort of light in the room. That’s why I’m here. That's why we’re both here. So we can control our powers, right?”

There was a moment of silence. Neither boy said a thing. Sora could feel tension twisting itself in knots in his stomach. He had said all that he needed to. He bit his lip, part of him hoping that Riku would just walk away instead of saying anything. It would hurt a lot less than words. Even if that were true… Sora needed him to say something. To say  _ anything _ .

“Is that true?” said Riku finally. The coldness of his gaze didn’t fade or even show signs of it. “Or are you just lying to me again?”

“Riku…” Why did he think that? They were friends. No matter what Riku did, that wouldn’t change Sora’s mind. To think that he thought he had been lying… actually, thinking back on it… Sora could understand why he thought that.

“Don’t talk to me like I’m some kind of idiot. I came in first during the exams. I’ve always been the strongest, so why now…? The only one who could beat me was Roxas, and he’s—!” Riku cut himself off there, his voice echoing in the courtyard. He sighed, running a hand through his hair and lowering his voice. “He’s gone. And now you… No,  _ everyone _ is stronger than me. Cloud was right, I could’ve killed you! Dammit! How do you not hate me after everything that I—?!”

This time, Riku didn't stop himself. Sora did. He ran up to his friend, barrelling into the boy and nearly knocking him over. He rested his head against Riku’s chest in some sort of weird, armless embrace.

“I don’t hate you. You're one of my best friends. I couldn’t hate you, no matter what you do,” said Sora, pressing his forehead harder against Riku’s chest. “Please don’t leave. I already lost one of my best friends, I don’t want to lose you too!” There was a pause before he heard Riku sigh.

“What are you doing?” Riku asked, somewhat exasperated.

“I’m trying to hug you, but I can’t move my arms. That’s what I do when Kairi and…” Sora bit his tongue, “when someone’s upset.” He sighed, staring at the ground. Things were starting to calm down now. Now… Maybe now he could get Riku to realize… “I hate having to fight you. I hate seeing you like this. I… I haven’t been lying to you, I promise.”

Sora was silent, waiting with bated breath for Riku’s response. Much to his surprise, he wasn’t pushed away as he expected. Instead, Riku just sighed again. He wrapped an arm around Sora’s shoulder.

“I believe you.” Sora was quiet for a moment. He pulled away.

“You’re not just saying that are you?”

“No. Break your arm and legs, break your finger, do all… that…” Riku gestured to the bandages Sora had around his arms now, as well as the slings they were in— “Now that I think about it, it makes sense.” He let out another sigh. “Thanks for that.”

“For what?” Sora asked, a brow raised.

“Breaking your arms.” Sora found himself laughing. Riku joined in not too long after. The sounds of the boys’ laughter echoed throughout the courtyard. He had missed this. He had missed his best friend. Sora could not be any more relieved than he was now. Neither noticed someone else join them in the courtyard until they spoke.

“There you are.” The boys’ laughter finally calmed down as Cloud descended the stairs. There was a content expression on his face as he approached the two. He looked between Riku and Sora. “I assume you two are finally talking to each other again?”

“Yeah,” said Riku with a short nod and a small smile. It felt good to see the boy smile again.

“And are you sure that you’re alright, Yamazaki?”

“Yes,” Riku groaned. “Stop asking already.” Sora looked between the two. Wait, what? He shook his head. He would ask Cloud about that later.

“What exactly were you two talking about before I got here?”

“Oh, uh,” Sora stammered, trying to figure out exactly how to explain what just happened, “nothing special!” Cloud hummed.

“Now I’m curious,” he said, leaning forward with a smirk. “Tell me all the details.”

“I sort of…” Sora exchanged a look with Riku, hoping that he would have some answer, but all Riku did was shrug, “forgot?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that's done, we have a small peaceful moment before getting into the brunt of the major event of the next arc. That's right. We're starting the USJ arc in the next chapter.
> 
> Next time: 
> 
> Chapter IX, Just Do Your Best!
> 
> Someone gets thrown over a crowd.


	9. Just Do Your Best!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following the events of their fight, Sora tries to get the class to trust his childhood friend. But Riku seems to have the situation handled all on his own.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The image of something that happens later in the chapter always makes me laugh, and if you can figure out what it is, please feel free to laugh with me. There aren't any things that I think I have to warn you guys about, so this is pretty much it.
> 
> Oh! Also, this chapter is posted on January 11th, so happy birthday to Shouto Todoroki!

To Sora, the most important development of the week was that Riku was talking to him again. Even if it was just a few words, it was enough for him. It meant that their relationship was on the mend. He had even started walking to school with him, Kairi, and Cloud when he could. But, that wasn’t the only change.

The day after the mock battle, Riku had started wearing a simple black cloth around his eyes to make some sort of blindfold. He reassured his classmates and teachers that he could see perfectly well out of it, going as far as to demonstrate this just to keep it on. He would explain everything about it except for one thing. He never said why he wore it. Riku would always change the subject when the topic was brought up.

Sora had given up after the third day of trying to get an explanation. It didn’t mean that he didn’t want to know anymore. It just meant that Riku was being stubborn, which was the only thing that wasn’t uncommon for him. Hopefully Riku would start to trust him enough again to tell him.

Today wouldn’t give Sora the chance to even see if he did. As Sora and friends, with step-parent trailing far behind them at his own pace, approached the gates of U.A., they were met with a rather… strange sight. A group of reporters and cameramen had surrounded the front of the school, clamoring to get inside. And unfortunately, the moment they spotted the trio, they surrounded them like sharks.

“Hey, you!” said one reporter, a microphone practically shoved into Sora’s face. “Can you tell us what it’s like working so closely with a famous hero such as Rainspell?” Rainspell? Wait, Ms. Caelum?

“I, uh…” How exactly was Sora supposed to answer that? They weren’t working together at all. Caelum was their teacher. Why were they asking them that? With a huff, the reporter turned to Kairi.

“Can you tell us what she’s like?” she asked the girl.

“What she’s like?” Kairi repeated, getting a swift nod from the reporter. “Well… uh… she’s really strong! Yeah…” Well, that seemed like one of the answers that they wanted because the reporter went on after that.

“How is she faring as a teacher?” the reporter asked, getting a bit too close in Kairi’s face.

“Well…” Riku stepped in, pushing Kairi and Sora behind him and towards the gate, “she reminds us daily that we’re lucky to be attending this school. A hero like her… it’s truly a unique opportunity to be taught by such a—” Sora let out a short sigh as Riku went on, doing his best to draw out the reporter’s attention so that their focus drifted. While that was going on, Sora’s own attention drifted to something else entirely.

_ Why are they so interested in Ms. Caelum…?  _ Sure, the public loved heroes. But this was going a bit overboard, wasn’t it? And sure, Rainspell was an amazingly powerful hero, but so were the rest of the U.A. teachers. Why were they asking only about Caelum and not them?

“Hey, isn’t that one of the Leonhart twins?” said one of the reporters, breaking Sora out of his thoughts. He felt tension take over his body. It had been a year since they lost Roxas. He thought that the press had let it go by now. The only thing that served as evidence of the event now was the small group of heroes still searching for the boy, even though the team itself had been disbanded. 

Before Sora could stammer out some sort of a reply, he was miraculously saved when Cloud caught up to the trio. His guardian reached out, grabbing the reporter’s mic. There was a zap. When Cloud withdrew his hand, the item was left smoking. 

“Hey!” said the reporter. Cloud ignored her, turning to the three students instead.

“You three,” he said, “Head inside, alright? Let me handle this circus.” The trio exchanged a look.

“But, Mr. Strife—” Kairi began, only to be cut off when Cloud held up his hand.

“This happens at the start of every school year, don’t worry about it.” Sora exchanged looks with the other two once more. Riku and Kairi seemed as confused as him. But still, they nodded and made their way towards U.A’s main building.

“Why do you think they’re so interested in Ms. Caelum?” Sora asked his friends. “I mean… she’s just a normal person. It took me awhile to realize who she was. Even with the blue hair.”

“You want to ask her?” said Riku. Sora immediately shook his head.

“No, not really.” Sora was pretty sure that if he did, Ms. Caelum would literally bring the rain down on him. As nice as she seemed to be most of the time, that first day proved that she was more intimidating than she was a good person.

“If you won’t bring her out, then I’ll just get her myself—!” Sora heard a reporter shout before she was cut off with the loud blaring of an alarm. The kids stopped dead in their tracks. They whirled around just in time to find Cloud jumping back away from the entrance as a thick, metal wall dropped down from the gate’s archway. Similar defenses erected themselves around the border of the school. Cloud only let out a sigh, running his hand through pale blonde hair as he walked up to the trio still trying to figure out what just happened.

“I was serious about you three going inside,” said Cloud, walking up to the three and acting as if that all just didn’t happen. “You’re going to be late.” Riku and Kairi stood here in silence. Well, if no one else was going to say it, he would.

“Uh… Cloud?” Sora asked, glancing back at the shut gate. “What just happened?” Cloud let out a sigh.

“That would be the school’s defense system. It’s designed to stop anyone who doesn’t have a staff or student ID or a visitor’s pass from setting foot on the campus.”

“Glad to know that it works…” Kairi muttered as the sound of the alarm faded. Sora had to agree, but he wished that the school had told its students about it beforehand. There was going to be ringing in his ear all day after that surprise.

“If you’re done asking questions, then get to class. If this has been going on for as long as I think it has, Caelum is already in a bad mood. Don’t make it any worse.” The trio nodded, continuing their way towards the front door. Cloud heaved a sigh, glancing back at the sealed gates before following after his students. Sora caught him muttering something under his breath: “No wonder she hates the media…”

Even after all that, Sora still had one question in mind. What did the media want with his homeroom teacher?

* * *

Cloud was right about one thing. Ms. Caelum was in a bad mood when she entered the classroom, her face screwing up with irritation as soon as she caught sight of the scene outside. Several members of the class flinched when she shut the door a little louder than she meant to. With a sigh, she took her place at the front, ready to begin the day as she attempted to rub out the crease between her brows.

“Strife sent me the video feeds, as well as the end results for everyone’s teams for your combat training the other day. I’m pleased to tell you that you all did an amazing job,” said Ms. Caelum. “However…” Sora went rigid as her stern gaze fell on him and Riku. “Yamazaki, Leonhart. Both of you need to learn to control your Quirks, am I clear?” Both of the boys managed a short nod. She glanced towards Riku, “You let your anger get the better of you and couldn’t keep your powers in check. If it weren’t for Leonhart’s actions, you could have—”

“Mr. Strife already told me,” said Riku with a heavy sigh. “I’ll try to keep calm.” All Ms. Caelum did was nod before turning her attention onto the other person involved in that disaster of a fight.

“Leonhart.” Sora shot up straight, his entire body tense and his spine ramrod the moment his teacher called his name. Oh no. “The way you won the match was by breaking both of your arms. Work harder to master your power. I don’t want the excuse that you can’t control it. That’s starting to get a bit old. Your Quirk is incredibly useful, but you cannot keep breaking your body like that. Show some urgency, alright?”

“Y-Yes ma’am!” Sora replied. His rigidity melted away, and he sunk down into his seat. She was right, and he knew it. He really wished that the whole ‘egg in the microwave’ thing really kept him from breaking his bones every time he used his power. It would be a lot better if it did. He sighed. There had to be some way to not hurt himself and use his Quirk at the same time.

“Alright, now let’s get down to business,” said Caelum, finally done grilling the two who had gone all out against each other. “What you do next could very well decide your fate while you’re here.” Sora bit back a groan.

_ It’s not another Quirk test, is it? _

“Today, you’ll be choosing a class representative,” Ms. Caelum finished. Sora let out a sigh.

_Oh, just normal school stuff._ _Thank you! _Nearly the entire class leapt up almost immediately, throwing out their own name and asking to be chosen. Sora sighed again, leaning up against his desk. In a normal classroom, the class’s representative would just have a bunch of extra work. However, this was not a normal class. Being the representative for a class full of future heroes was a way to get noticed by agencies and prove to them that they were able to lead a team.

“Will you all shut up?” Riku’s voice cut clear and loud over the rest of their classmates. When everyone fell silent, Riku let out a sigh. “This isn’t a job that just anyone can do. The easiest way to solve this problem is to have a vote.”

“Is that really the best idea?” asked Hiro.

“Yeah, everyone’s just gonna vote for themselves,” Ariel added.

“I know, but do you have a better idea?” said Riku. The class was quiet. The only noise that Sora could make out was coming from outside. He could only assume that the ‘circus’ from earlier was still going on. Sora glanced out the window. Ms. Caelum let out a heavy sigh.

“Do what you want,” she said, “it sounds like a good idea to me.” Sora was snapped back to reality when Riku slammed his hand down on his desk to catch everyone’s attention again. He was smirking. 

“Looks like my idea wins,” he said proudly.

In the end, most people did end up voting for themselves. Actually, the only people who got multiple votes were Sora and Hiro Hamada. Sora stared at the number. He had barely beaten Hiro with only one more vote than him. And it left him with the highest amount. And he didn’t understand it at all.

_ How did I get three?! ...How did Riku get only one? Wait… _ Sora thought about what happened a week prior.  _ Nevermind… that doesn’t explain Kairi, though.  _ She was a class rep back in middle school. Everyone generally liked her, so it wasn’t hard. But now… it didn’t make sense. She hadn’t gotten any votes at all.

“Alright,” said Ms. Caelum, taking another look at the results, “looks like Leonhart is the class rep.”

“Are you sure that it’s not a mistake?” Sora asked. Much to his surprise, his teacher nodded. This wasn’t a mistake. The class had willingly voted to let him lead.

“How did this happen?” Sora heard Hiro mutter out loud.

“Come on, it’s not so bad,” Ariel said to the shortest of the class. She had a point. As the second place winner, Hiro was the deputy. He was still a part of the class’s representation either way.

“Yeah, I guess I can get behind him…” Eugene not-so-subtly said to himself.

“Hiro was on top of it when it came to our training, wasn’t he?” Rapunzel muttered out loud. He groaned, wanting at that point to phase through his seat and into the floor. Even he knew that this had been a very bad decision on the class’s part.

* * *

The morning seemed to drag on as if it were a block of cement down on Sora’s shoulders that weighs about two tons. By the time their lunch break swung around, he felt like he was about to crash. He felt confident enough to lead, but after all that had happened… It confused him. Who the heck would willingly vote for someone whose power destroyed him? Sora thought about all of this still as he and his friends snagged their usual spot in the cafeteria.

“I hate how it’s so crowded here…” Kairi said with a sigh as she plopped down in the booth. Sora took the open space beside her, adding in his own opinion with a nod.

“That’s because all U.A. students share this area,” Riku reminded her as he slid into the seat across from both her and Sora, “not just hero students.” Sora could feel Kairi’s stare on him as he danced his fork around the food on his tray.

“You okay?” she asked.

“Yeah… no,” Sora said with a sigh, slinking a bit lower in his seat, “Just worried about this whole… rep thing. I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

“Sure it is.” That… wasn’t exactly what Sora had been looking for.

“You’re fine,” said Riku. Sora blinked, staring at his friend. He sighed. “When you’re not panicking, you’re actually a decent fighter thanks to all that observation you’ve done. Not to mention, from what I remember, you’ve demonstrated a great deal of strength. It’s why they voted for you.”

“I don't get why. You are a better choice,” said Sora, shovelling a forkful of pasta in his mouth. “You do the same thing in a fight. They’ve only seen one. You’re a better leader than me.” Riku let out a sigh.

“Being suited for a job and being able to do it are two different things.” Riku began to fidget with the hem of his blindfold. “The fight we had taught me that much.”

“This about what happened? Riku, I’m fine. See?” Sora rolled up his sleeves to show Riku his arms. Aerith had taken care of them days ago. He was fine. There wasn’t even any sign of scarring. “Besides if we were to fight now—” Kairi delivered a sharp kick to his shin. “Ow! What?” Kairi gestured over to Riku, who had gone still. It then clicked. “...Oh.”

It wasn’t because of the fight itself. It was because of what had happened during the fight. Riku’s anger… Sora felt a chill run up his spine as he remembered the feeling of the shadows crawling all over him.

“I’m not going to risk losing control like that again. I need to earn our class’s trust before I even think about being in such a position,” Riku said with a sigh as Sora rolled his sleeves back down. He traced a finger over the edge of his blindfold one last time before lowering his hand. “You, Sora, have put your safety on the line countless times for others. That’s the definition of a leader.”

_ Doesn’t mean that I’m responsible enough to do this, just means I’m reckless.  _ Before Sora could bring up this counterpoint, the P.A. system crackled to life. Instead of the usual bell to signal the end of the period or the voice of a teacher, a loud alarm started to sound.

“ _ Warning. Level Three security breach, _ ” said a feminine voice over the loud sound. “ _ All students evacuate in an orderly fashion. _ ”

“Level three?” Riku muttered under his breath. All eyes fell on Sora. It took him a moment to realize why.

“Don’t look at me!” he said.

_ What makes you think that Cloud told me about this?! _

“Come on!” said Kairi, pulling both of her boys out of their seats. The trio rushed out of the lunchroom. Everyone had been quick to react. Given the fact that the were U.A. students, that was to be expected of them. But the mob that had formed… was not. The entire cafeteria had flooded into the halls, pushing to get themselves towards the exit. Sora let out a yelp as he was shoved roughly forward into Riku’s back.

“What the hell…?” he heard Riku mutter before Sora slammed him into the window. He felt Riku go tense underneath him. Sora glanced up. Riku had his eyes focused (or at least Sora assumed he did) on something outside the window.

“What?” said Sora before letting out a yelp as someone pushed him forward. Or at least tried to; he collided with another student.

“It’s just the press!” What?! “Remember what happened this morning?” Sora glanced out the window. True to his word, Sora could make out a group of people at the front gate, probably arguing with the teachers that were there to block them from entering.

“Are you serious?!” Both boys grit their teeth, grunting as they were pressed further against the window. Riku managed a nod. “How come no one else knows this?!”

“They’re all too busy panicking.” Sora braced himself as the shoving got worse. Heroes were not meant to panic like this. BUt then again, it was as Riku pointed out earlier. Not everyone in the crowd were hero students. They were technically civilians. They had every right to panic. The boys heard a familiar cry not too far ahead of them.

“Kairi!” shouted both boys. How far ahead was she? Sora couldn’t even see her, despite her voice sounding like she was close by. What were they going to do? There was no way their voices could be heard in this crowd. And with everyone panicking like they were, Sora doubted that even if someone heard them, they wouldn’t pay any attention. Behind him, Sora felt Riku relax as he was pushed into him once more.

“Kairi!” Riku called out, straining his voice to get Kairi to hear him. “Create a shield! Right above me!”

“What?!” Sora heard Kairi shout. He had to agree. What?!

“I have an idea, just trust me!” Apparently, Kairi didn’t ask any more questions. A hardened shield of light formed just above Riku. It was just high enough for him to grab the edge of it. Riku pulled himself up on the surface, withdrawing himself from the crowd. Just what was he doing?

Riku forced his weight down on the shield, turning it slightly to angle himself. It was only when he pushed off of it that Sora realized what he had been trying to do. Unfortunately, though, it wasn't enough force to get him to the front of the mob.

He heard Kairi gasp as Riku went flying above the crowd. Instead of the shields that Riku needed, a series of bubbles were flying upwards. Riku bounced off of each with multiple yelps until he got to his destination. He slammed his back against the wall right above the exit. Sora winced out of sympathy. Riku dug his heels into the door frame, a hand on the ceiling above him and one on the wall behind him..

“Everyone listen to me! Everything is just fine!” Riku shouted, keeping his back pressed against the wall and his hand firmly on the ceiling to keep his balance. A bit of the crowd calmed down at the sound of his voice. “It’s just the media outside. There’s nothing to worry about! I promise that everything is fine! We’re students of U.A. We have to prove that we’re able to remain calm in any situation, alright?!”

Riku’s idea had worked. With the students realizing that they weren’t in danger at all, the calm that fell was almost instant. Sora found Kairi and together, they pushed their way to the front. The pair caught Riku as he jumped down from his perch.

Even though Sora didn’t say it out loud, that was impressive. There was no way he would have thought of something like that in the chaos. iku was way better under pressure than he was. That was something that could make or break a hero. Or even a leader.

Sora started to get any idea of his own.

* * *

The lunch break did nothing to calm the homeroom teacher of Class 1-A. If anything, the event with the media had only served to make things a whole lot worse. She entered the classroom in a similar manner to that morning. Their teacher leaned against the door with a sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose before getting back to work.

“Kids, take note,” said Ms. Caelum, striding into the class with an obvious look of irritation on her face. “That is what happens when you’re the only one left standing during a fight.” Sora stared at her as she joined him and Hiro at the front.

_ What’s she talking about? _

“Well, class rep?” said his teacher, leaning against the front of the podium. “We have to pick the rest of the student officers. Why don’t you go ahead and choose?”

“Oh, uh. Yeah. But um…” Sora stammered, “there’s something that I wanted to do first.” Hiro gave him a look, and Sora could feel the same confused expression coming from his teacher. He sighed. Well, it was now or never. “I’ve been thinking a lot about this all day. And… And despite what everyone thinks, I believe that Riku Yamazaki should be our class rep!”

“But didn’t the dude try to kill you?” Sora bit his tongue as Wakka brought up a decent point. There was a difference between murderous intent and losing control of your power.

“I’ve known him all my life, and I know that he wouldn't do that on purpose.” He sighed. He couldn’t excuse Riku’s anger. The whole thing had stemmed from a misunderstanding that was left to fester before exploding. That… wasn’t exactly a good reason for Riku to do what he did. But that didn’t mean Sora couldn’t use something about their mock battle to help. “Everyone here has lost control of themselves before, Riku and I aren't the only exceptions. And earlier today, he was able to get everyone in line. I think he’s the one who should be leading this class. Not me.”

There was a moment of silence as the class exchanged looks with each other. Riku groaned, placing his face on the table. Sora bit his lip. His plan had to work. Riku was better suited to be a leader. Not him.

“You know what?” said Eugene, breaking the silence as he leaned back in his seat, “if you got Leonhart vouching for you, I’m fine with it.”

“Plus, you really did help,” added Rapunzel. Riku picked his head up, turning towards the rest of the class behind him with confusion.

“He looked like the guy on the emergency exit sign up on the wall like that,” said Aladdin, hiding a snicker behind his hand. Even more agreement came from the rest of the class.

“Alright, settle down,” said Ms. Caelum, her voice rising above the rest of the students and getting their chatter to stop before it got out of hand. She turned to Riku. “Yamazaki? What do you say?”

“Uh…” Riku turned to Kairi, who nodded. Sora flashed him a grin. The entire class had their eyes on him. “Sure.”

“Sounds good, Emergency Exit!” shouted Eugene from his spot in the center of the class.

“Emergency Exit Yamazaki!” Mulan added. And Riku gave a small smile.

“But I got more votes than him…” Sora heard Hiro mutter next to him. He sighed, running a hand through brown spikes.

_ Looks like the class really is starting to trust him now…  _ Good. Maybe that meant that they would get to see the real Riku soon enough. And Sora would be able to relax with the knowledge that his friend was okay.

* * *

The security system that protected U.A. and all of its students was state of the art. It was updated each year to combat any villain who would try to break in or worse. The metal that was used in order to re-enforced the gate and the outer walls if someone did try to break in was made out of titanium-steel alloy that was supposed to weather even the strongest Quirks.

The fact that Cloud Strife now stood here, with his fellow teachers in front of the shredded metal gate was unnerving. The gate was supposed to be impenetrable. How on earth did someone do this to it?

“This is a problem,” said Aerith, Cloud able to easily hear the worry in her tone. That was one way to say it.

“How were members of the press able to get past the systems?” asked the ninja behind him, the young woman fiddling with the scarf around her neck. Cloud picked up a piece of the deris, trailing a finger across the tears in it. It looked like some sort of wild animal had clawed its way through it.

“I don’t think this was the press,” said Cloud. He had seen them just that morning. If either of them had a Quirk that would allow them to do this, he would have noticed. They were practically all over him after what he did.

“A villain?” Aerith asked. For a second, Cloud felt like someone had stuck a metal rod into his spine.

“Probably. But I don’t think that this was just a show of power,” he said, trying to keep his voice as calm as possible. If he was worried he couldn’t show it very well. All three staff members turned to the short man, the principal, who had come to investigate with the three of them. “Sir? What do you think?” There was a pause before their boss responded.

“I think that we need to proceed carefully,” he told his teachers. Cloud gazed up at the window into 1-A before looking down at the metal remains he was still holding. His grip tightened on it. Careful...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next time...!
> 
> Chapter X: USJ
> 
> Who's ready for the story's climax?


	10. USJ

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What was supposed to be the start of their rescue training goes awry when a group of villains breaks onto school grounds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The following chapter contains violence because fight sequences, Aqua being a badass and a bit of lore if you can find it in there.
> 
> But now we get up to the final arc of this fic! the USJ Incident! Are you guys ready for it? Because I sure am!
> 
> Oh, and I do have an important question to ask. But I'll wait until the end of the chapter for that.

_ Shit, shit, shit! _ The last time Cloud had run this fast was last April. The only difference between then and now was that there was no danger… and that instead of running  _ from _ U.A., he was running towards it. Of all days, why did he have to short circuit the alarm today? Why didn’t Squall bother to wake him up? Why didn’t  _ Sora _ wake him up!?

Whatever the reason, Cloud would find out later. Right now, he had to get to the school. Upon discovering what had happened, Cloud wasn’t initially in that much of a rush. His classes were in the afternoon. He thought that he would be fine.

But then he remembered the training exercise that Class 1-A had that day. It took up the entire day, and was too important for Cloud to miss. And of course the train was down. Of course, of-fucking-course. He had no choice but to run towards the school. It wasn’t another mock battle he had planned, but it was something he was looking forward to teaching 1-A. Especially Sora.

Sora. The boy was only fifteen and already had so much power. Even if his body can handle some of it, he was still a kid, as well as Cloud’s son… even if the boy didn’t acknowledge it. They weren’t related by blood. Cloud could only suspect that was the cause. He only wished that the boys would see him as something other than the person their father married.

He shook his head. He couldn’t focus on that now. Cloud had to hurry. If he moved quickly enough… 

There was a scream not too far from where Cloud was. He came to a screeching halt as the screamer shouted for help again.

_ Shit... _

… this was a risk, but he had to take it. He changed his course and ran towards the direction of the cry for help.

* * *

Sora bounced his leg under his desk as he stared out the window, lost in his own thoughts and daydreams. He was snapped back to attention when the door opened and Ms. Caelum entered, signifying the beginning of the school day. Riku and Hiro immediately went to stand, as it was their job to help start homeroom and lead the class as their representatives. Ms. Caelum held them still with a simple raise of her hand, signaling the two to sit back down.

Wait, what exactly was going on?

“Today will be a little different than usual,” said Ms. Caelum as she took her place in front of the class. All of the students seemed to be just as confused as Sora. She turned to the board, writing something upon it. “In this case, the entire day will be dedicated to your hero training. You’ll also have three different instructors: myself, Ms. Kisaragi and Mr. Strife.”

_ That is if Cloud makes it on time. Dad said to leave him alone this morning, that he wasn’t feeling well the night before. I hope he’s okay…  _ Sora had to guess that he was up late last night, or had overused his Quirk again. He could only assume, after having observed Cloud since he was little, that had been common for people with Quirks like his.

“Ma’am?” Selphie asked, raising her hand up high. “What kind of training is this?” Ms. Caelum grinned, crossing her arms over her chest as she stepped away from the board to reveal what she wrote.

“Rescue,” she read aloud. Gasps and a few cheers rippled throughout the class. “You’ll be dealing with natural disasters, shipwrecks, etcetera.”

“Disasters, huh?” Aladdin mused before breaking out into a smirk. “Sounds like a good workout!”

“Totally!” agreed Rapunzel, bouncing up in her seat.

“And this is the real hero stuff, too. This is what separates the men from the boys,” added Eugene. “I’m so excited!”

“I’ll finally be able to show off how good I am in the water!” said Ariel with a small cheer.

“Hey! I’m not finished,” cut in Ms. Caelum’s voice, loud and clear. The class fell quiet. She sighed. “You’ll get to choose what you wear for this exercise. I know that you’re excited about your costumes, but please keep in mind that you’re not used to them. They may limit your abilities. That, and this training is at a special facility. We’ll have to take a bus to get there. That’s all. Go get ready.”

And with that, the class dispersed. Almost everyone raced to the shelves in the back of the class to gather their hero costumes. If given the chance to wear them, they were going to wear them. It was as Ms. Caelum said. They weren’t used to them yet. Better to change that now than have it be a problem later. That… and most of them were pretty cool.

_Rescue training…_ Sora thought to himself as he pulled out his gym uniform from his bag. Out of most things in his hero training, rescue was the one thing that he was genuinely and completely excited for. It was the major reason he had applied to U.A. in the first place. This was going to be great.

* * *

Sora adjusted the support braces on his arms as he followed everyone else on the bus. Unlike the rest of the class, he didn’t have his hero costume on him. All that he did have were the braces to support his joints in case he had to use his Quirk during training today. He doubted that would happen but still. They would help him either way.  _ But not even that _ , Sora thought to himself as he dropped down on the bus with Riku and Kairi,  _ can bring my mood down _ .

“Hey, Sora,” said Kairi as the bus began its trip. “Why are you wearing your gym clothes?”

“Support's… well, they're redesigning my costume,” Sora explained, trying to find the right words to explain it. He remembered practical being jumped by a boy in the support course a few days after the mock battles with the request and stars in his eyes. “They saw the video of my fight and wanted to make something that could prevent the backlash from my Quirk from being so… harsh. That, and Riku kinda destroyed my costume during our fight, remember? I’m still waiting for the replacement.” Riku sighed at this, leaning forward in his seat.

“That wasn’t my intention,” he said, not looking up to at least try and meet anyone’s gaze. He pushed his hair out of his face before tying the long, silver strands back.

“You just really need to chill. Relax,” said Eugene, sitting across from the three with a shrug. “So you lost control, what’s the big deal?” Rapunzel, sitting next to him, thwacking him on the shoulder before returning to the task of braiding her impossibly long hair. Eugene glanced over at her, finding the young girl glaring at him. “What?”

“If we’re pointing out the obvious, then there’s something that I want to say about Sora,” said Ariel, sitting on Sora's left side. She leaned forward, giving the brunette a grin. “That power of yours. It’s a lot like this one hero. I forget his name, but he was super strong and fast. And he lit up like you do! Though I think it was green…? I don’t remember… I just overheard Ms. Caelum talking about it.”

“I don’t really know…” Sora said with a shrug. He never heard of a hero having a similar power to his before. At least not that he could remember. 

“Wayward Wind,” Riku cut in. There was a moment as eyes fell on him. “That’s the hero you’re talking about, right? Wayward Wind.” After a second, Ariel nodded. Riku sighed. “You know he wasn’t even a hero, right? He was a student who vanished after a fight.”

“Vanished?” Eugene repeated, an eyebrow raised.

“He disappeared.”

“I know what that means,” Eugene huffed, “but I don’t get what you mean by it.”

“There was a fight a long time ago that he caught up in,” Riku explained. “I don’t know much about it, but when the dust had settled only one hero was left standing, and Wayward Wind… It wasn’t him. No one really knows what happened to him.”

“So, are you two related?” Ariel asked, turning to Sora once more. “You and Wayward Wind?” Wayward Wind? Sora hadn’t even heard of that name before. Or at least, not in any solid memory of his. Maybe once on a news report on something? Nothing about the name stuck out to him.

“Uh… I don’t think so,” Sora replied, though he was a bit unsure in his own answer. “The only people in my family that I know of who became a Pro was my dad. I think.” He would have to ask about that later. Were his grandparents ever heroes at one point? He knew that they weren’t now. Or at least his grandfather wasn’t anyway.

“What about your mother?” Rapunzel asked. Immediately, Riku and Kairi looked to Sora as soon as the question was asked. Sora didn’t bother to meet either of them. He stared at the floor, his fingers curling around his gym pants. It didn’t take long for his classmates to figure out why. “Oh. I-I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

“No, it’s fine. It happened a long time ago, so it doesn’t bother me as much…” said Sora quickly. She hadn’t meant to bring it up. Not to mention, the only ones who knew about it were Riku and Kairi. Rapunzel didn’t know. “A-And besides… I really don’t remember her, so…” There wasn’t really much to miss… still didn’t mean it wouldn’t hurt him. Every time Sora tried to ask about it, his father would fall quiet and not answer. All he knew about her was that she shared a Quirk with Roxas. That was it.

“Doesn’t matter, does it? What matters is that Quirk. I wish I had something like that. You can do a lot of things with that,” cut in Eugene, thankfully changing the subject entirely. He held up his hand, and the change was almost instant. As if someone had dumped a bucket of liquid metal on him, the skin of Eugene’s hand turned to solid steel. “My Iron is strong and can destroy a lot, but I basically turn myself in a frying pan. Not that impressive.”

“Uh, no way! I-I think it’s really awesome,” said Sora, leaning forward in his seat. From what he had seen of his classmate’s Quirk during the assessment test, it had so many practical uses in the field. He had to ask to analyze it one day. “You’d be a hero who’s hard to beat like that.”

“You really think so?” Eugene asked, glancing down at his hand as it returned to normal.

“I mean… Yeah,” Aladdin added, tapping his heel against the bus’s floor. “But my speed has a lot of strength and flash to it. That’s gotta grab someone’s attention, right?”

“It’s not good if you can’t run a mile, Ali.” Mulan chimed in, not that far from the group.

“If anyone here has eye-catching Quirks, it’s Adam and Tidus,” said Rapunzel, gesturing to the two sitting in front of them. “You saw them in the mock battle. They went hard!” Did they? Sora made a mental note to ask them about their Quirks later. He really wished he could have seen them all in action.

“Yeah, but Adam’s always angry, so he’ll never be popular,” said Ariel, loud enough for the beast boy sitting only a few seats away from them to hear. “Even if he is a good hero.”

“You want to say that to my face?” said Adam. No one showed any signs of replyin except for Mulan, who sighed.

“Even though we just met you, it says a lot that we can guess your personality is basically a ticking time bomb made of soda and mints,” she said, leaning back in her seat. Mulan seemed to be the only member of 1-A that was brave enough to call Adam out on anything. The beast turned around his seat, facing the dragon with bared teeth.

“You’re going to regret saying that.”

“What? It’s true.”

“Don’t poke the bear,” said Hiro with a heavy sigh from his spot beside her, tightening the straps that held his heavier looking gloves in place. Mulan only shrugged.

“Hey, stop messing around,” Sora heard Ms. Caelum say. All of her students looked towards the woman in the front of the bus as it came to a stop. “We’re here.”

Sora’s jaw dropped the moment he saw the training facility. It was absolutely huge, with a large glass dome serving as it’s roof and making up for a majority of the place’s size. Standing out in front waiting for them was a young woman with short black hair and blue-grey eyes. She was dressed head-to-toe in a hero suit based off of a ninja’s, with the exception of the bright yellow scarf around her neck.

“Hello everyone!” said the woman cheerfully as the students filed off of the bus. “You kept me waiting a long time.” Sora grinned, making his way to the front to greet the heroine who was going to be working with them that day.

“Yuffie!” he called out, rushing towards the heroine. Yuffie held out an arm, stopping Sora dead in his tracks before he could get any closer to her.

“Ah,” said Yuffie, wagging a finger in this direction with a smirk. “Here, it’s Ms. Kisaragi, got it?” Sora let out a nervous-sounding laugh, but nodded.

_ She's having way too much fun with this…  _ he thought as the rest of the class caught up with him.

“Come with me. I want to show you what we’ve been working on here!” Yuffie continued, turning to the building's doors. With a grin, she pushed them open. A gasp rippled out through the students as they entered the facility. It had been divided into seven different sections, all off them surrounding the central plaza. The entrance was on a raised platform, with a staircase descending down into said plaza below.

By mere observation alone, Sora could tell that the place was perfect for rescue training. Each of the different sections was designed to fit a different natural disaster — from a shipwreck to a rocky mountain area. It had everything. 

“Welcome to the Unforeseen Simulation Joint. Or as I like to call it, USJ!” Yuffie said proudly, her hands on her hips. “From shipwrecks to landslides to fires, windstorms, et cetera. This place is designed to prepare you for any sort of disaster you’ll encounter out in the field.”

“Kisaragi,” said Caelum, nabbing Yuffie’s attention, weaving her way through her students to get to her side. “Where’s Strife? I thought he was waiting here with you.” Sora looked around. Now that she mentioned it… where  _ was _ Cloud?

“He um…” Yuffie glanced over at Sora before sighing. “He missed the train this morning and used up the rest of his energy getting to U.A. He’s resting in the teacher’s lounge right now. He should be able to catch the tail end of the lesson.” Sora’s face fell by the slightest bit.

_ Cloud _ …

“That man is a prime example of irresponsibility sometimes, I swear…” Ms. Caelum whispered harshly under her breath. She let out a sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose before pushing her hair out of her face. “Let’s just get started.”

“Okay! But before we start, I want to say something,” said Yuffie. With a huff, Ms. Caelum nodded. Yuffie turned to the class, her grin relaxing. “I’m sure that most of you are aware of my Quirk. It’s called Smoke Bomb. I can use it to allow myself to teleport myself into different spaces that normal pros can’t reach. But it comes at a cost. Whenever I do, I leave behind a thick cloud of smoke. As useful as it is, it can also be used to kill because of that. Some of you have powers that can also be dangerous.”

As she said that, her eyes feel upon Sora and Riku.

“All Quirks are certified and strictly regulated, so we sometimes forget how dangerous they can really be. Don't forget that if you make the wrong move or lose focus, your powers can become deadly, no matter what your intention is,” Yuffie continued, crossing her arms over her chest. “Thanks to Caelum’s fitness tests and Strife’s combat training, you all have an idea of where you stand. You know what you can do. And… you know how dangerous your powers can be against other people.” Riku lowered his head. “Think about that as we work through this today, because today you’re going to learn how to use those Quirks of yours to save lives. That’s what being a hero is all about.”

_ Yuffie can be so cool… _

“And that’s it,” Yuffie concluded, clapping her hands together. “So, why don’t we get—?”

The ninja was cut off as the lights around the facility started to grow brighter and brighter. In a flash, each bulb crackled with electricity before violently exploding. The water coming out from the fountain stopped flowing, as if they had been cut off from its source. Yuffie and Ms. Caelum, eyes wide, spun to face the central plaza.

A dark, swirling hole opened up just in front of the center fountain. A hand pushed through, followed by the rest of the body. Ms. Caelum went for the goggles around her neck as a man no older than her with long, silver hair came to stand in USJ.

“Stay together and don’t move!” said Caelum, lowering her goggles so that they were secured over her eyes. She turned to Yuffie, her expression unreadable to Sora. “Kisaragi, protect the kids!” Yuffie only nodded.

“What is that?!” Eugene shouted, drawing the class’s attention to the center of the plaza and the swirling portal. Thirteen different people, all of them dressed in black hoods filed out. From what Sora could see, only one of them had their hood actually raised. He and a few of his classmates took a step forward, trying to get a better look. Their teacher threw out her arm, keeping the kids from getting another step closer.

“I said  _ stay back _ !” The kids flinched at their teacher’s tone. It wasn’t the cheerful one she spoke with when talking to them. It wasn’t the stern one she used when teaching them or when the class got out of hand either. Ms. Caelum’s tone was the same one Sora’s parents took when they were on the field. Which meant one thing. “This isn’t part of the exercise! Those are really villains!”

“The only heroes I see are Kunoichi and Rainspell,” said one of the cloaked people down below, a middle-aged man with an eyepatch. before glancing over at another. “Where’s Fenrir?” Fenrir… Sora swallowed something in his throat. What did they want with Cloud?

“According to the schedule I received, he’s supposed to be here,” said a much younger man with blue hair and a scar dead center on his face.

“Those scumbags used the press as a cover,” Sora heard Ms. Caelum muttered under her breath. Yuffie’s eyes widened.

“ _ They _ broke the gate?!” All Caelum did to reply was nod.

“So then where is he?” said the one with the silver hair, whom Sora was starting to suspect was their leader. “We went through all the trouble of gathering everyone to come here. It would be best to take out three of the strongest heroes at once rather than leave a symbol of hope for them to cling onto,” He let out a sighed before turning to the member wearing an eyepatch. “Xigbar, open the portals. You all know where to go.”

The eyepatch villain nodded. With a snap of his fingers, dark swirling portals opened up around the group. The dark-cloaked members each filed into one. And each of the portals closed with a snap as soon as they vanished. Sora felt himself rooted in place. Something about those portals...

“Zexion,” the leader continued as the members fled, turning to a young man whose steely blue hair covered one of his eyes, “go with him and take care of the students.”

“Yes, sir,” he responded without an argument. Yeah… definitely the leader. Sora stared at that silver-haired man. He saw nothing but pure evil reflected back in those golden eyes of his.

“These can’t be real villains,” said Eugene as the eyepatch man and the young man disappeared into a portal. “How did they get in here?!” From beside him, Rapunzel only shrugged and took a step closer to him.

“Ms. Kisaragi,” said Selphie, not even bothering to hide the panic in her voice, “why aren’t the alarms going off?!”

“I’m not sure…” said Yuffie. Sora glanced over at her. That look… the Yuffie that Sora knew was always an upbeat person with a smile on her face. But now… now she looked worried. And it scared him.

“If the alarms aren’t going off, then at least one of these villains must have a Quirk that’s keeping their presence hidden,” Riku said, throwing out what he thought was most likely possibility. “They chose an isolated entry point at a time that a class was being taught. It was reckless coming here, but they’ve thought this out. They have some sort of goal in mind.” Their homeroom teacher acted quickly.

“Kisaragi, get them out of here,” said Caelum to her colleague before turning to the shortest of her students. “Hamada. If they’re blocking the sensors, then they’re blocking out the building's communication, too. Do you have any sort of system in that suit of yours that could get through to the school?” Hiro bit his lip before nodding. “I want you to try and bypass it in order to contact the school. Got it?”

“I’ll try,” Hiro told her, his hand instantly flying up to the radio implanted in the helmet he wore. Ms. Caelum readied herself at the top of the stairs. It was only then that Sora understood what his teacher was going to do.

“Ms. Caelum, you’re not going to fight them on your own, are you?!” Sora asked, rushing up to his teacher’s side before she could rush off to face the intruders. His teacher glanced over at him. “I mean, I know your Quirk is really powerful, but… it’s not good in combat like this!”

“Does that matter?” Sora was left silent by his teacher’s reply. “You should know better than anyone that you can’t be a Pro if you only have one trick up your sleeve.” A sharp crack of thunder broke through the air as Ms. Caelum leapt off of the staircase. She rushed towards the remaining villains. Clouds formed above her and them, turning darker with each step that she took.

“Look at that,” said the scarred villain at the bottom. “She thinks she can take on the three of us at once.”

“Rainspell…” said the gray-haired leader, venom dripping from his voice as he said the hero’s name. Ms. Caelum withdrew the sash that was wrapped tightly around her waist. It loosened, and she threw it forward as both the blue-haired villain and the only remaining member wearing a hood rushed to meet her. Her sash wrapped around the two of them as dark clouds formed above the leader. With a yank, she drew the pair close to her. They were flung into the air, landing flat on their backs behind her.

Lightning came crashing down upon the leader from the cloud above. Much to Sora’s shock, the villain dodged each bolt with ease. It was as if he knew it were coming. How was that even possible?!

“Not so fast,” said the leader. Immediately, the blue-haired villain jumped back to his feet, shaking off Caelum’s capture weapon. He bared his teeth at the hero. “That’s the problem with heroes like you. You always think the battle is over when it’s just the beginning.”

She didn’t say anything back to him. Ms. Caelum simply turned around as the blue-haired villain came at her. She went to deliver a kick to his face, but the villain easily grabbed her ankle. He threw the woman over his shoulder, tossing her back towards her students. Caelum spun her body in the air, landing on her feet and quickly regaining her footing. With a wave of her hand, the clouds moved above him and began to pelt the scarred man with fits of hail.

“How annoying…” the leader said before he ran into the fray himself. He ducked underneath Ms. Caelum’s sash as she threw it at him. All three villains were up now, and all three were converging on her. Sora stared in amazing me as his teacher began to fight. He didn’t know much about Rainspell, but being able to see her fight like this was—

Sora was brought back to reality when Riku grabbed his arm.

“Not the time to be analyzing!” he said, “ _ Move _ !” Riku pulled the boy along, only letting go once Sora started running with the rest of his class towards the exit.

"Ah, ah, ah! Not so fast, kids!" A portal opened in front of them. The two villains who had been sent to ‘take care’ of them stepped through, blocking their only means of escape. The eyepatch villain… Xigbar laughed.

"You think you can get away that easily?" he said, that smirk on his face showing no signs of fading. “It’s a bold move. But not bold enough!” Sora felt his blood grow cold. That Quirk… the man’s voice… and that shining golden eye.

Sora knew who that man was.

"Yuffie!” Sora called out to the heroine, rushing up to her side. “He's one of the villains who took Roxas!" Yuffie’s eyes widened as he glanced over at him quickly before returning her focus on the two standing in front of her.

"Are you sure?!" she asked. Sora nodded, staring the eyepatch-wearing man dead in the eye.

"I'd never forget someone like that." Once again, Xigbar laughed, his gaze meeting Sora’s own wavering one.

“Well, well,” he said. “Looks like the prodigal son lives up to the rumor. Smart kid.”

“Don’t agitate him,” said the villain’s companion. Zexion, right? That’s what Sora remembered him being called.

“Why?” Xigbar shrugged, “I want to see what the kid can do. He would be a lot more useful than that weak zombie.” Weak zombie…? Who were they…? It clicked in the back of Sora’s mind. Something inside him snapped.

“What… What did you…” Sora lunged towards the villain. “WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY BROTHER?!”

“Sora!” Yuffie grabbed Sora from behind, pulling him back to the rest of the class who took over in restraining their classmate.

“Sora Leonhart,” said Zexion, brushing his hair aside briefly to get a better look at the boy who almost attacked them. “Son of number ten Pro Hero Griever and adoptive son of number eight Pro Hero Fenrir. Quirk: Superpower. Gifted with great strength and speed at the unfortunate cost of self-injury to himself. He’s one of the few that Xemnas told us to keep our eyes on.” Xigbar smirked. Sora’s face drained of color.

“Then this should be fun,” he said.

“H-How…?” Sora stuttered. How… How did they know about him? How did they know about his Quirk?! How did they know  _ any  _ of that?! Xigbar’s smirk grew wider.

“Allow us to introduce ourselves,” he said, gesturing to himself and the young man that stood beside him. “We’re Organization XIII. Hope you don’t mind us dropping in on your little lesson. We just want to teach one of our own.” Yuffie’s eyes widened.

“Get behind—!” she started, only to be cut off when two of the students pushed away from their class. Adam and Eugene rushed towards the villains, Quirks activated and ready to strike. The moment the pair made contact with them, there was a loud explosion, kicking up a massive cloud of dust and throwing the two boys back. Sora heard Eugene chuckle as Rapunzel and Aladdin pulled him back up.

“Did you think we were just gonna stand around while you were going on?” he said, sounding pretty pleased with himself. All of that pride faded as soon as the dust settled. Zexion huffed, pinching the bridge of his nose in what looked like frustration.

“Seems as if U.A. does live up to its reputation,” he said. Sora froze. The two villains were completely unscathed by his classmates’ attack. Zexion brushed the dust off of his coat. “But you children should be more careful. Otherwise, someone might get hurt.”

_ Children…? He doesn’t look that much older than us…  _ Sora took a step back, his mind racing. What was happening? Why were they being attacked? What did these guys want?! Wasn’t Roxas enough?! The younger villain raised his hand.

“Everyone, get close to me!” cried out Yuffie.

“I don’t think so!” shouted Xigbar in retaliation. With a snap of his fingers, dark portals surrounded the class. They came rushing at them. Sora felt someone latch onto his arm. He let out a scream, throwing his free arm up to protect himself as the portals swallowed up him and his classmates.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun dun... with the kids scattered, the real fight can begin.
> 
> But I digress. As I said before, I had a question to ask. And that question is: Do you -- my readers -- want me to continue with the rest of the series? Like, continue on with the next few arcs of My Hero in this AU. It doesn't make  
You don't have to answer right away. I'll be asking again over the next few chapters. If by chapter thirteen I have enough people saying "yes" I'll get started with the Sports Festival Arc. And let me tell you. I have some plans for that arc that will require a bit of help from you guys. Mostly involving the tournament. And characters. I still need a Hatsume.
> 
> Okay? Okay.
> 
> Anyway...
> 
> Next Time!
> 
> Chapter XI: Shipwrecked.
> 
> Sora makes a real splash.  
I'm not apologizing for that pun.  
Go beyond! Plus Ultra!


	11. Shipwrecked

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cloud is an adult. He does not need to be lectured by his boss like he's some teenager.  
Riku has a responsibility and a thick, heavy chain that's holding him down.  
Sora and Ariel are about to rewrite the ending the Titanic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning, there are fight sequences in this chapter. Nothing bad or too graphic, no.  
That's the next chapter.  
It also contains kids being mini-badasses.

Cloud leaned back against the chair he had taken up in the teacher’s lounge with his phone pressed to his ear. He had made it to U.A. in record time, even if he was still late. Unfortunately, his actions earlier that morning left him drained. Some teacher he was. Because of what he did, he wouldn’t be able to use his Quirk for a while. Cloud let out a sigh as he only reached Yuffie’s voicemail. Again.

_ Usually Yuffie picks up after the third call… And Caelum has no reason to ignore me.  _ Then again, they were in the middle of teaching a class, unlike him. He wasted all of his energy on trying to make it to U.A. on time that he forgot about what he was supposed to do. It was a rookie mistake, what was he thinking? Maybe if he left now, he could make it just in time to say something inspiring.

“Hopefully Caelum doesn’t chew me out…” Cloud sighed, standing up and keeping his fingers crossed that she wouldn’t. Not in front of the students anyway. ...or Yuffie for that matter. She would record the whole thing and post it on their agency’s social media page.

“Hold your horses!” Cloud froze in place as the door to the teacher’s lounge opened. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of the principal of the school entering the room. He let out a little sigh, running a hand through his hair. He didn’t have time for this.

“Sir, normally, I would be fine talking with you, but I really have somewhere to be.” Cloud was stopped once again when the principal held out his arm, in an effort to make the hero trip if he tried to leave. Cloud frowned. If this man wasn’t his boss, why could have just pushed him out of the way at this point. But again. The man was also his boss.

The principal held up a tablet, displaying one of the many news ages that covered heroes. Cloud held back a groan. He could see his face clear as day on the webpage.

“The news says that the Pro Hero Fenrir stopped three incidents this morning in less than an hour. And here I thought you were late because you missed the train.” The principal sighed, lowering the tablet and placing it on the table. “You haven’t changed. Only now, your heroism is limited due to domestic life, as well as the added work of training Sora. Yet, you insist on remaining a symbol of peace for the people. I thought you took this job because you wanted to step out of the spotlight.”

Cloud bit back another groan. He knew that, it was why he became a teacher. But just because he was a member of U.A’s faculty didn’t mean that he had to stop being a hero. If he had the chance to save someone, he was going to. That resolve only got stronger in the past year. It was how he wound up at the rank he was now. He wouldn’t let someone lose their loved one because a hero was slow. Not like he had lost one of his. Cloud let out a sigh, plopping down in the chair he had taken up earlier.

“After exerting all that energy, someone like you needs to relax a little while longer,” the principal continued as he crawled up on the sofa opposite Cloud. “Sit here and talk with me. Aqua and Yuffie are more than capable of handling a group of teenagers. You need to learn that there are plenty of hero agencies working throughout the city that can handle any crisis that arises.”

“You make it sound like I can,” said Cloud. “After everything, you make it sound like I could just walk away when I hear a cry for help. Sometimes heroes do everything they can to help save a life, even if it means wearing ourselves out.” The principal was silent. Pinching the bridge of his nose, Cloud stood. “So, if you excuse me, I’m going over to the USJ—”

Without warning, the principal pushed something on the table next to the sofa off. It collided with the coat rack next to it, causing an eventual and quick chain reaction that made the door slam shut and Cloud jump.

“If you went now, there’s no way that you would be able to teach. You’d run out of energy again. Stay here and recharge.” The principal smiled at the teacher, which only made Cloud stiffen. God, he felt like he was a student again… “In the meantime, why don’t we have a little chat?”

_ Great, I’m getting lectured by a giant mouse.  _ Cloud let out a sigh, dropping back down in his chair. There was no point. He was caught in a trap he couldn’t get out of. Still, most of what the principal said fell deaf on his ears. He glanced down at his phone.

_ Why aren't they answering…? _

* * *

Riku’s head was swimming as the smoke around him cleared. All he could recall was Yuffie’s shout and her grabbing the closest student to her, who just so happened to be himself as he followed through with the order to get a hold of her. In the next instant, there was a sharp crack. And now he was here, standing with Yuffie and far out of the reach of the portals that the eyepatch villain had thrown at them.

“What happened?” asked Riku. “Where is everyone?!” If anyone had managed to get a hold of Yuffie as he did, they would be here right now. Yuffie stood up, glancing back at the plaza below, as well as its surrounding areas. He heard her groan.

“They’re all over the place,” she said, her focus returning to the fight in front of her. “They’re still in USJ, don’t worry.” Riku nodded. They were safe… or now, anyway. But that left better questions in his mind.

“What do we do now?” That was all he could think of to say. Physical attacks obviously didn’t work of the two villains standing in front of him and Yuffie; Adam and Eugene had made that thoroughly clear. Not to mention, the villain calling himself ‘Xigbar’ apparently had a Quirk that allowed him to warp things and people. It was a moment before Yuffie spoke.

“Riku. I need you to do something,” Riku glanced over at her. He had seen Yuffie fight before, but that was mostly from far away or in a video. He had never seen her face. The look of fury and determination on the usual cheerful woman’s face seemed almost abnormal. “Run to the school and tell the faculty what’s going on. We’re completely cut off from the outside world. It’s impossible to find the person who's doing it. It’ll be faster if one of us gets out and gets help.” Riku’s eyes widened.

“Why me?! You can just—”

“Because despite what Rainspell thinks, she can’t do this alone, and that means leaving you here with them.” Riku glanced back at his teacher. “I’ll do what I can to keep them distracted. Just focus on getting past those doors. Be a hero.”

_ “Being a hero is about being strong. Not just having a strong power, but a strong heart, too. That’s all you need to be a hero. And you have that already.”  _ Riku shook his head. Where had that come from?

“Is it really wise to strategize in front of your enemy?” said Zexion, the other member of the Organization who had cut off the class and made Riku snap to attention. Crap, he had forgotten that they were listening! With a wave of his hand, several dark blue meteor-like objects formed in front of Zexion.

“It doesn’t matter because you won’t be able to do anything once I’m done with you!” said Yuffie. Zexion merely hummed in response. With a signal from their creator, the meteors rockets towards the teacher and her student. Yuffie’s eyes widened. “GET DOWN!”

Riku did as he was told and dropped down to the ground. He heard a sharp crack from next to him. Yuffie had disappeared in a plume of smoke. Riku rolled out of the way as the meteors struck the ground where he and the hero once were. As soon as the smoke cleared and Riku could see a bit better, he found where Yuffie had vanished to.

She had appeared latched onto Zexion’s back. 

* * *

The darkness caused by being forcibly thrown into that portal soon faded for Sora’s vision. He could finally hear himself scream again. He opened his eyes. He was hurtling towards a large blue something below. He couldn’t tell what it was, and at the moment, he really didn’t care. His scream was replaced by a loud splash as he finally collided with the blue thing.

It took Sora only getting a mouthful of the stuff to realize what it was he had fallen into.

_ Water…? _ Shaking his head, Sora began to swim to the surface to at least try and get a clear idea as to where he was. He had barely begun to move when something came rushing at him out of the corner of his eye. As it got closer, Sora came to realize that it was a sharpened spire of ice. He tried to swim faster, but the spire was quicker.

It had to have been pure luck that whoever had grabbed Sora had been dropped into the water with him. And was way faster than the ice. Because out of nowhere, Ariel Triton came swimming out from the depths faster than a rocket. She kicked at the ice, breaking it in two. She looked up at Sora and flashed a grin.

“Hey, Sora!” Ariel said her voice muffled by the water around them. She swam up towards him and grabbed his hand. With Ariel as his guide, the two swam towards the surface. It was only once they broke through that Sora realized where they were.

They were still in the USJ and had been dropped right in the middle of the shipwreck zone. The pair made their way quickly over the boat that was floating in the center of the pool. Ariel pulled Sora over to the ladder on the side that extended to the water below. They quickly climbed onto the deck, Sora helping Ariel as a thank you for saving him earlier.

_ Ariel Triton, Quirk: Siren. She can basically do anything a fish can… with a few exceptions. _

“Thanks for saving my life,” said Sora with a short sigh, dropping down against the ship’s cabin that served as the wall hiding them from view. Ariel dropped down beside him. She had been right earlier. The fish girl was  _ really _ good in the water.

“No problem,” she said before her relieved grin faded away. “But…” She didn’t need to finish her sentence. The two peeked out from their place on deck. At least two of the Organization's members were standing on pillars of ice, not too far from where the ship was floating in the water.

“Do you think Yuff—” Sora cleared his throat. “Ms. Kisaragi managed to get anyone?”

“I hope so. Especially after what those guys said…” Sora raised a brow.

_ What they said…? That’s right! The silver-haired guy said they came here to—!  _ Sora felt his blood turn cold as those words repeated in his mind.

“They’re going to kill us… They knew our whole schedule. They knew that we would be here,” said Sora, realization hitting him full force. He turned to Ariel. “While the teachers were busy with the media and we were trapped in the cafeteria, they snuck right in. It’s like Riku said, they planned this.” Ariel turned pale.

“Does that mean they figured out a way to take out the teachers, too?” ...Sora hadn’t thought about that. A fear in his chest started to constrict his heart.

_ Cloud… Ms. Caelum, Yuffie! _ If they didn’t act, they were going to lose them. Sora had already lost half of his family to villains… he wasn’t sure how both he and his father would be able to handle losing Cloud, too.

“We need to get out of here and find help,” said Ariel in a harsh whisper. Sora could only nod in agreement as he swallowed down a lump forming in his throat. He peeked back out at the two villains waiting patiently for the kids to make their move.

“Come on, kids!” shouted one of them, a dirty-blonde haired young man with his hair styled into a mullet. “We just want to… play!”

“I hope you realize how that sounds,” said his long-haired companion. The younger of the two shrugged before jumping into the water. He moved across the water with ease, as if he were just gliding on the surface. His partner rolled his eyes. With a simple movement of his foot, a bit of the water’s surface froze, disconnected from the rest of the icy platform. Standing on the ice floe, the long-haired villain pushed away and caught up to his companion. They were heading for the ship.

In Sora’s mind, Ariel had been right. These guys had to have a way to take out their teachers. They wouldn’t have attacked if they didn’t. But why here? Why now? Sora shook his head. It didn’t matter. He could care less about what their reasons were. He had to focus if he was going to get himself and Ariel out of here.

“If they can beat them, then we have to stop whatever these guys are planning. We have to work together to keep our classmates safe. No one else knows what’s happening besides us,” Sora said as he turned to Ariel with a grin. “Let’s be heroes.”

“Do you really think we can fight them?” Ariel asked, biting her lip.

“We don’t have a choice.” Sora leaned out a little further, trying to get a better look at the villains. Something that had happened not long after they stepped into the USJ came back to mind. “Those two have an advantage in the water. And you remember what that guy said in the beginning? He said that everyone knew where to go. That means they know the layout of this place.” Sora retreated quickly before he could be spotted, with Ariel pulling him safely to her side. “But for a group with such careful planning, I don’t get it.”

“Get what?”

“They sent you here.” If they had known Ariel was a fish, they would’ve sent her to the fire zone and not somewhere full of water. That’s where it made sense. And it brought something to light that could be used to the kids’ advantage. “That means, aside from me, they have no idea what we’re capable of.

“I guess their plan is to overpower us and take us out one by one. Like I said, the only Quirk they know about seems to be mine. Everyone else is a wild card,” Sora continued. The villains were in a similar situation to him. Because he had missed the rest of the mock battles, Sora had no idea about the rest of his classmates’ powers aside from Kairi and Riku. “Ariel, what exactly can you do?”

“Well, I can breathe underwater and swim really fast,” Ariel explained to him. “Water pressure and temperature doesn't affect me that much.” She clapped her hands together. “Oh! And when I sing, it casts this sort of spell on people that makes them zone out for a while.” Sora blinked.

“You really can do that?” Ariel nodded.

“Unintentionally, yeah. Trying to figure out how to control that while I’m here…” Ariel let out a yelp and Sora bit back one of his own as the boat suddenly gave a lurch.

“Come on, kids~! Come into the water~!” Sora heard the younger of the two villains in the water shouting in a sing-song manner. “I’m getting BORED!” With that last note, a large wave slammed the boat, shaking it again. Something struck the boat’s side. Sora scrambled to his feet and peered over the edge. A large spear of ice had rammed into the underside and tore a hole into it. The ship was starting to sink, and the villains were circling around them like sharks.

Sora ducked back down, glancing out at the two Organization members. He could hear something coming from the younger one. Just what was…? As he got closer, Sora was able to make out what it was.

_ He's humming, why is he doing that?!  _ There had to be a reason for it, right? Maybe a habit… something he did while bored… It shouldn't be anything to get concerned about. Sora glanced down at the water. the waves were moving in time with what the dirty-blonde was humming. ...or maybe it was important after all.

“Ariel, I have an idea! Use your voice and distract that guy over there.” said Sora, pointing over to the probably water-based villain surfing on its surface. “ Look at the water, it's in time to the tune. I think if we can get him to stop long enough then—"

“Then we might be able to take him down!" Ariel said with a grin, finishing his thought. Sora nodded.

“Aw, come on, now~!” sang out the water villain again. “Come and join us~!” Ariel and Sora exchanged a look before scrambling to get into position.

“Focus! Xemnas told us to keep our guard up! You can’t judge a child without knowing their Quirk!” Sora heard the ice-using villain yelled as he began to climb up to the top of the ship’s only cabin. It was the highest point he could get to at this rate. He plugged his ears as Ariel stood on the railing below him. Just as they had planned, she began to sing. “Demyx, are you listening to me!?”

From what Sora could tell he was not. His eyes went blank as soon as Ariel’s voice reached his ears. And judging by the movements of the waves, so did his humming. without any sort of control to keep him afloat, the water villain dropped into the water. HIs companion extended the ice he was standing on, reaching out to catch the man before he sank too far into the water. No was their chance.

He took a few steps back as Ariel leapt over the side of the boat, diving deep into the water. Sora ran to the edge before jumping off. Even if he smashed one of the two, it would leave him out of commission and in danger. He couldn’t afford to take out his whole arm yet. He had to focus.

_ Egg in the microwave… egg in the microwave… egg in the microwave!  _ Sora let the energy surge through his hand. He was getting closer and closer to the water. Demyx, the one to control the waves, had snapped back to attention and broken through the surface. But it was too late.

“TAKE THIS!” Sora cried out, flicking his fingers. The force of the blast caused a suction effect on the water. Both of the villains were pulled towards the center with it. Sora himself went flying a few feet further before crashing down into the pool below. He had to consider himself lucky. Because of Ariel’s Quirk, she was made a stronger swimmer than the average human. She raced out with ease, grabbing Sora and pulling them both far enough away from the danger. Sora glanced back at the whirlpool he created.

He remembered something from studying for his entrance exam. With a strong enough force applied to the water’s surface, the water was pushed away… and without that force, it would come rushing back to the center. Sora smirked as he watched the jet of water explode above the surface. 

Ariel pulled him to the top. Sora gasped for air, taking in all he could. He turned to the pool. The villains had been thrown to the opposite side of the zone, only kept from some serious injury by a pillar of ice that had caught them. But it was enough. 

Sora and Ariel let out a mighty cheer, wrapping arms around one another. Those two were out of the game. They had done it. They had beaten actual villains!

“I say we passed the shipwreck zone!” Ariel laughed as she and Sora began to swim towards the shoreline. He couldn’t have agreed more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so glad that there are people out there who want me to continue this. I have so many ideas for the next few arcs that I think some people are going to like. Including the introduction of a character that I've been waiting to write for a while now. Thank you guys so much!!
> 
> Next Time!
> 
> Chapter XII: Running Out.
> 
> What would happen if the hero who could weather any storm was pushed to her limits?  
Go Beyond. Plus Ultra!


	12. Running Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kairi tries to keep herself and her classmates from getting crushed. Or worse, speared by stone.  
Riku, recalling something from his past, makes a choice.  
Aqua fights against the villains of Organization XIII and Sora makes a shocking discovery.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning! This chapter contains graphic violence and injury. If you've seen what happens to Aizawa in the USJ arc, then you know what I'm talking about. No matter how many times I watch that scene, I always cringe at it.
> 
> Most of you guys are gonna hate me by the end of this chapter.  
I also make a Marvel reference. Sorry guys, I couldn't resist. Bonus points to those who can spot it.

He let out a shout as the villain came swinging at him. Hiro ducked, narrowly missing being hit in the face. The ground gave a sudden lurch as the villain's fist collided with it. The resulting shockwave dislodging the stone of the mountain zone. Kairi let out a yelp as she dodged, knocking into Mulan as she did so.

“What’s going on?!” Hiro shouted. Kairi wasn’t entirely sure how to answer. One minute, they were rushing towards the exit with their teacher and the next, the three of them had been dropped into the mountain zone of USJ. And there waiting for them was a villain who apparently specialized in causing earthquakes.

“Does it matter?” said Mulan, righting Kairi and breaking her out of her recollection. “We need to focus!”

“Says you. Can’t you just set him on fire so we can run?” Steam exited from Mulan’s mouth as she huffed.

“It doesn’t work like that! Fire spreads. And depending on his Quirk, it probably won’t even do anything!” She bit back a groan. “Can you get through to the school?

“Something’s jamming the signal!” Hiro stumbled at the force of another quake before he regained his balance again. He tapped the side of his helmet. “I can’t work around it, so my best guess is that a villain is doing something about it.”

“So, we’re stuck?” said Kairi. She let out another yelp as the villain attacked again, causing a large enough quake to dislodge the ground beneath her. Jagged, uneven rocks shot up, and Kairi barely managed to dodge them in time.

“Basically!” Kairi grit her teeth as she stared at the cracks the villain had created. They had to do something to stop him. The three students couldn’t very well keep running around like this forever. If they were caught by those portals, then probably so were their classmates. If they were having as much trouble as them, then they needed to help. There was strength in numbers. But first things first, they had to get out of here with minimal injury. They needed some sort of protection for that...

Something popped into her mind.

“Idea!” Kairi exclaimed. “Get close to me!” The other two didn’t argue. Mulan and Hiro ran over until they were close enough to Kairi, who immediately erected a bubble barrier to protect them from the villain’s heavy hits. The man stood there after failing to break the barrier only once. Kairi locked eyes with him as he stared at the trio.

The villain changed his mind about the direct approach. With a heavy stomp, the ground beneath them started to shake. Kairi stumbled, caught by Hiro and Mulan before she could fall over and make the barrier fall with her. She grit her teeth again, planting her feet firmly on the ground.

“I’ll do what I can to keep this up, but it’s not going to last forever,” Kairi said. The gears of her mind went to work. Hiro couldn’t use his Quirk against this guy, and she couldn’t do much of anything while maintaining her shield. That only left one person. “Mulan, are you sure that you can’t use your fire on him?”

“Not without burning the rest of you in the blast,” said Mulan. “You could get hurt by that excess heat.” Kairi smirked.

“Fine by me.”

“What?!” Hiro shouted. Even Mulan threw her a confused glance. Kairi knew what she was doing. As the villain reared up to attack again, she started to shrink her shield. “What are you doing!?”

“Just trust me. My bubbles are stronger than they look.” Swallowing something down, Hiro nodded. Kairi bit the inside of her cheek. She shrunk the shield just enough so that it covered only her and Hiro. They were safe. The villain on the other hand… “Mulan, now!”

“Badass,” Mulan said with a grin. She stood up, her dark eyes becoming mere slits. Kairi watched as her classmate let out a roar, drawing in a strong breath. The large villain rushed towards her, prepared to strike. Kairi’s breath hitched in her throat.

Before the villain could land a hit, flame shot out of Mulan’s mouth in a large jet. The villain stopped dead. With how close he was, he had been forced to take the brunt of the attack. Eventually, Kairi heard the villain cry out, engulfed by the fire. It didn’t last long. Mulan soon ran out of breath, dropping to her knees at the same time as the villain fell.

_ Mulan Fa. Her Quirk: Dragon. Much like the creature serving as her family’s symbol, Mulan channels the power and appearance of dragon, down to the scales and the fire breath.  _

As soon as the villain dropped, so did Kairi. She doubled over a sigh, the bubble around her opping. Her bubbles were definitely strong, yeah, but even they had their limits. And keeping up that meant using up her own strength. Hiro rushed over to Mulan and held out a hand to her. She took it.

“What do we do now?” he asked Kairi as he pulled Mulan back on her feet.

“Now we focus on the rest of our class.” Kairi sighed again, pushing herself up “Mulan, are you okay?”

“A bit winded…” Mulan huffed and straightened, “but okay!” Kairi gave her a small smile. No injuries or casualties or anything of the sort. So far, so good. Now all they had to do was find their classmates, get to the front of the building and get out safely without running into any more—

Kairi went rigid as she heard the strong crackle of electricity behind her.

* * *

Riku watched, wide-eyed behind his blindfold as Yuffie clung onto Zexion’s back as if she were a koala on a tree. Her arms were wrapped tightly around his throat as she struggled to stay on. The young man struggled to both breathe and get the heroine off of him.

“Get off of me!” shouted Zexion through his teeth, trying to pry Yuffie’s arms apart. Xigbar went to grab the hero, but Yuffie acted quicker. She disappeared in a crack and plume of smoke that caught both of the villains.

“So annoying…” Riku heard Xigbar mutter to him in between his coughs from the smoke. Anything else he could’ve said was cut off when Yuffie teleported onto him. Grabbing him from behind, Yuffie flipped him over, tossing him onto the ground. Unluckily, Xigbar managed to make a portal to catch his fall. Its complimentary half opened above her. Xigbar came through. He landed a kick to Yuffie’s back and knocked her to the ground.

“You are a rescue hero, aren’t you, Kunoichi?” said Zexion, rubbing at his eye. “You have no fighting experience or awareness on the battlefield!” With a snap of his fingers, the villain created several flaming, meteor-like objects in front of him. Zexion waved his hand, sending the projectiles towards Yuffie. Riku watched as his teacher yelped, teleporting in a puff of smoke and reappearing behind the man.

Where she reappeared, however, Xigbar was there waiting for her. He seized her by the wrists, holding her arms behind her back with a single hand. The other was carefully holding her neck to keep her from fighting back. With a flick of his partner’s wrist, thick ropes circled around the hero and bound themselves to her. Much to Riku’s surprise, Xigbar let go of Yuffie.

The second he took a step back, Yuffie went to break the ropes. They fell apart easily. However, the moment they broke, they exploded. Yuffie let out a cry, and Riku could see angry and bloody burns around her arms.

“Yeah, might not want to break those,” said Xigbar flatly, staring down at the injured woman, shaking and grasping at her skin. Riku felt his skin grow cold as Zexion’s revealed blue eye fell on him..

“Xigbar,” he said, causing his partner to look up. Both of them were staring at Riku dead on. And Riku was frozen in place. There was nothing that he could do. In order to do something, he would have to use his Quirk. And that only made himself freeze even worse.

_ I can’t… My Quirk… I can’t…!  _ Riku caught sight of Yuffie pushing herself back up.

“Riku…” said Yuffie upon seeing the frozen boy. “ _ RUN _ !” The ninja hero swung her leg up, delivering a kick to Xigbar’s chin before he could even think about getting close to Riku. The eyepatch-wearing villain stumbled back. Yuffie’s words echoed in Riku’s mind. He grit his teeth.

_ I don’t have to use my Quirk to be a hero… do I?  _ No… he didn’t. Riku ran forward, moving as fast as his legs could carry him. The gears in his mind were working into a similar sort of overdrive.  _ If whatever that guy makes explodes upon contact or when they’re broken… _

“Zexion!” shouted Xigbar as Riku sped by him, the boy making sure that he was out of reach of the villain. Good. The Quirk of the other was just what he needed.

“A sheep trying to escape the wolves,” said Zexion, rolling his eyes. With a wave of his hand, he created another series of meteors. “How pathetic.” A flick of their master’s wrist was all they needed to go rocketing towards Riku and the front gate.

_ Everyone’s counting on me… I have to show them that they can trust me! _ Riku ducked as the meteors came hurtling towards him. He smirked as everything happened just as he thought. Instead of hitting him, the meteors hit the gate. As Riku had predicted, they exploded on contact. The front door was destroyed, leaving a large enough hole for Riku to fit through.

“No!” shouted Zexion.

“Shit!” Xigbar hissed as Riku dove in through the dust. He rolled on the ground outside. He didn’t wait another moment. The boy scrambled to his feet and started to run. He kept running, moving as fast as his legs would allow him to. He heard Yuffie let out a scream, but it was already over. He had to keep going. He couldn’t turn back.

_ Hold on, help is on it’s way soon! _

* * *

Ariel and Sora carefully made their way over to the shipwreck’s zone shoreline. They weren’t sure if there were any other villains lurking about. They couldn’t draw attention to themselves. They were as quiet as possible, pulling themselves out of the water and onto dry land.

“I can’t believe we actually did that. It took everything I had to keep calm. It was such a risk, what if there were more of them in that zone that we didn’t know about—?” Ariel sharply nudged Sora in his ribcage as they stepped out of the pool.

“You’re muttering,” she said in a harsh whisper. He let out a soft, sheepish laugh.

“Sorry…” Sora let out a sharp, sudden gasp. The adrenaline in his blood had faded, and the pain in his hand was finally getting to him. Sora stared down at his fingers. It had to have been luck that only one of them and his thumb had been broken by the force of the blast.

“Are you okay?” Sora held his hand close to his chest, managing a nod.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me,” he told Ariel as to not cause some sort of panic. Sora would take care of his broken fingers later. There was something a bit more important that they had to take care of.

Careful not to catch the villains’ attention, Ariel and Sora began to make their way towards the exit. The closer they got to the gate, the closer they got to the fight going on in the plaza. Sora slowed, stumbling as a realization dawned on him. Ms. Caelum was fighting against three of the villains on her own.

Where was Yuffie? She had to have taken care off the two who had ambushed the class by now. He shook his head. That didn’t matter. At the rate Ms. Caelum was going, she was going to wear herself out before any sort of help had even arrived. He started to drift towards the plaza. Sora felt Ariel grab his arm. He turned, only to be met with her worried expression.

“You’re not really thinking…?!” she said, her voice in a low whisper.

“I’m not saying that we should jump right into the middle of the fight, but maybe we can take out one of those guys.” Anything to lighten their teacher’s load. Ariel glanced over at the fight. It was three on one. With them, it would be fair. In the end, she nodded.

Sora would later realize that he would regret not going straight to the exit.

Ariel and Sora snuck up the edge of the plaza, watching carefully as their teacher zipped around and did her best to stave off assault. She landed a blow to the blue-haired villain’s face, dead in the center of the ‘X’ shaped scar that spanned it. She wrapped her sash around him, using the villain as a weight to vault herself over to the gray-haired leader. The hooded third stood in her way. She easily kicked him in the stomach, pushing him down. She let out a sigh. She still wasn’t close to the leader. The leader, even though he still had to fight, already had enough.

“Saïx,” he said, voice stern as he stared at the blue-haired villain. He smirked. “Don’t hold back.”

“Understood,” said the blue-haired villain as he stood. The man… Saïx, growled. His teeth grew sharper, becoming almost like a wolf’s fangs. His eyes went full yellow, and the scar on his face expanded. The once composed man that Caelum was fighting had turned almost feral. Don’t hold back, his leader had told him. Sora dug his nails into the concrete underneath him.

With another growl, Saïx rushed at Ms. Caelum. She refused to give him a chance to get near her. She threw one end of her capture weapon at him. Unlike before, the feral villain caught it, nails extending out into claws and sinking into the fabric. Clouds began to swirl around the two. A cascade of lightning bolts came down around them, forming a barrier that prevented anyone else from entering. Sora watched as his teacher jerked the villain down towards her in an attempt to get the upper hand. She went to drive her elbow into his ribcage. He grabbed her wrist as she did. The blow hadn’t even affected Saïx in the slightest.

That’s when things took a turn. Sora heard a very familiar, very sickening snap as the villain threw his teacher’s arm back. Ms. Caelum screamed, dropping to her knees as Saïx held her arm in that unnatural position. He felt something churning in his stomach.

“Isa, please…!” said Caelum, tears pricking the corners of her eyes. The man holding her ignored her plea. Instead, he only held her there, keeping her in place while his leader looked on.

“Don’t push yourself too hard, Rainspell,” said the villain’s leader. “Otherwise you’ll end up as broken and beaten as your master.” Ms. Caelum grit her teeth. With her good arm, she jammed her elbow back into Saïx’s ribcage. He grunted, his grip loose enough for Ms. Caelum to pull away. The clouds around them dissipated. Sora watched as his teacher jumped back away from the fight. She was panting heavily now, her arm hanging uselessly at her side.

The remaining hooded figure rushed towards her. Caelum managed to dodge, landing a kick in retaliation. She was trying to put distance between her and the villains. She was injured. Without the use of her arm, Sora wasn’t sure how much longer Ms. Caelum would be able to fight.

Saïx came back at her, winding up for another blow. Luckily, Caelum ducked. She swung her leg low, knocking the feral-looking villain off of his balance. She popped back up, taking a few steps forward towards the leader of the villain ring. He was next.

“That Quirk of yours isn’t useful in combat,” said the Organization’s leader, not showing a sign of even trying to fight back. There was a sharp crack of thunder. Dark clouds formed above him. The silver-haired man easily dodged each bolt of lighting that came crashing down in his position. “You can’t protect everyone, Rainspell. You never have been able to. Just like eleven years ago… what were their names again…?”

“Shut up!” Caelum shouted. She ran faster towards him. The clouds grew darker and the thunder grew louder. Caelum tossed her capture weapon at the man it wrapped around him and she yanked it. The man let her throw him into Saïx as he tried to get his hands on her again.

“How was it that you were the only one left standing that night?” asked the Organization’s leader, glancing up at Caelum as he stood up. “How could you let them take your friends away?” Caelum’s eyes widened. Sora stared at her. Wait, what was he talking about? Just what exactly had happened to his teacher in the past?

Whatever it was, the reminder of it all was enough to get Caelum’s movements to falter. Even if it was just for a split second, that was all the villains had needed. Saïx rushed her. He seized Caelum by the arm, spinning her and holding them behind her back. He threw the hero down into the concerte, pinning her in place. He twisted her broken arm, making the heroine cry out in pain.

Sora slammed a hand over his mouth, smothering the gasp that nearly escaped from it.

_ No, Ms. Caelum…! _

“The great and powerful Rainspell. The hero who can weather any storm. The last one standing. Do you think that you can stand now?” he said with a smirk. The leader crouched down to get closer to her. Caelum slowly looked up at him, pushing back against the force Saïx was using to hold her down. With anger burning in her cold blue eyes, Sora watched as his teacher spat right into the villain’s face.

Immediately, the villain stood up and recoiled in disgust. Barely a second later, Saïx showed no hesitation in slamming Caelum’s face into the already cracked ground. She let out a choked cry as he pulled her arm back further, crushing and snapping the bones even more.

“You pitiful excuse for a hero. You’re irritating. When faced with a true, devastating power, you’re useless,” the leader continued, wiping away her saliva on the back of his hand. There was a crack. The silver-haired man dodged a weak bolt of lightning from the fading cloud above him. Caelum grit her teeth, trying to summon any amount of strength she had to strengthen her power. 

Saïx grabbed her other arm and pulled it back, much like he had done the other. He snapped her bones like a twig. He yanked her hair back before slamming the Pro Hero’s face into the ground once more. Sora could hear Ariel choke on a cry as they both watched the gruesome scene.

“Hey, Xemnas!” Sora followed the leader’s gaze to the top of the stairs as someone called what had to be his name. The warping villain stood there, with his companion tossing a weakened-looking Yuffie to the floor. Sora grit his teeth, and Ariel's grip on him grew tighter. “One of the kids got out!”

“What?!” the villains’ leader shouted. Sora could see panic start to form in his eyes. This was one thing he hadn’t calculated for.

“You heard me!” Xigbar shouted back. “What do we do now?!”

“Xigbar, you fool!” Xemnas let out a sigh, standing as Xigbar and Zexion rushed down the steps. “We can’t win against that many Pro Heroes. It’s over. Xigbar! You and Zexion round up the other members! I don’t care how you do it, but do what you can to get them back to the base!”

“You got it!” Xigbar replied with a nod. With a snap of his fingers, a portal opened at the bottom of the stairs. Both he and Zexion jumped in. As soon as they vanished from sight, the portal closed with a pop. Sora could only assume that they were following through with the orders they had been given.

“Did…” Ariel’s eyes widened as she spoke, her hold on Sora’s arm loosening for a moment. “Did they just say they’re going to leave?!”

“That’s what it sounds like,” said Sora with a sigh. They were safe. And Cloud… Cloud had to be re-energized by now! He was going to come. He was going to save them. Him and the rest of the staff. They were going to be saved. They were going to make it. They would survive.

“Before we leave… why don’t we tear down Fenrir another peg?” said the Organization’s leader, breaking the boy’s train of thought. Xemnas’s golden eyes locked with Sora’s. “Saïx. Make them hurt.”

Fear flooded his system as the blue-haired villain growled. Sora found himself unable to move as Saïx came rushing at them. Ariel latched onto Sora’s arm, burying her face into his uniform. Sora reacted quickly, wrapping his arms tight around his classmate in an attempt to protect her from whatever blow was about to come.

“ _ NO _ !” There was a strong crash of thunder. In an instant, a thunderstorm blocked Saïx from getting any closer to the students. From her position on the ground, Ms. Caelum had seen her kids. And she used her last ounce of strength to protect them.

“You really are a pain, aren’t you…” said the Organization's leader as he grabbed a fistful of Caelum’s hair. “Rainspell?” He let go before she had the chance to reply. His teacher laid there, barely moving with her face and arms covered in blood and broken. Sora felt something inside him snap. As the storm keeping him and Ariel safe from Saïx dispersed, he rushed forward. Sora drew back his fist, feeling familiar red energy flood into his limb. He aimed for Saïx.

“GET AWAY FROM HER!” he cried out. The hooded figure rushed between them. He jumped between Sora and Saïx, his arm outstretched. A bright flash of light came from his hand the moment Sora made contact with his arm instead of the villain he was aiming for. Sora heard him cry out in pain as the light blinded him. He stumbled back, rubbing at his eyes. It took a second for Sora to realize what had happened. As his vision returned, he stared down at the arm he had swung with, Saïx snarling and Xemnas sneering.

“Thirteen!” shouted the leader. Sora stared at his arm. He had felt no pain. There was no snap of his bones, no sharp stab every time he moved it. There wasn’t even the distinct reddish-purple that signified the most common injury Sora sustained when using his power.

_ I...I can’t believe it! _ For the first time since his Quirk had manifested, Sora hadn’t shattered his bones. His arm had remained intact.

The dust around them settled. The force of that punch had knocked off the villain’s hood. Sora went rigid as things dawned on him all at once. The reason he wore that hood, why his face wasn’t shown. Sora’s train of thought was completely derailed as he found himself staring at a pair of blue eyes identical to his own.

“…Roxas…?” Roxas stared at him, a blank look in his eye. His arm hung limply at his side. He broke it. While Sora hadn’t broken his own, he did break Roxas’s. Sora had struck Roxas’s arm. Roxas’s eyes narrowed, a sneer curling up on his lips as his remaining hand balled up.

“Who the hell is Roxas?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See? I told you guys that Roxas was fine! Well... I mean... he's a member of Org. XIII but... he's alive. And also was in canon, so shoosh. He'll be fine. I promise.
> 
> But, as of right now, we're almost to the climax of USJ! Who's ready for that?!
> 
> Next time:
> 
> Chapter XIII: The Fury of a Father
> 
> An unbridled rage lets a hero go all out against the Organization!
> 
> Go Beyond! Plus Ultra!


	13. Fury of the Father

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cloud Strife arrives to take on Organization XIII himself. The attack on the USJ reaches an electrifying climax.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains violence and someone being electrocuted. And Cloud's Quirk. I hinted at it in earlier chapters, but now we finally get an explanation as to what it is.
> 
> But we finally get the finale for USJ! Whose ready?! This picks up right where the last chapter lets off, just as a heads up.
> 
> An alternate title for this chapter was "You Say Run", but I wanna save that for later.

Sora couldn’t help but stare at who was standing in front of him. A face just like his… the same bright blue eyes… windswept, spikey golden blond hair… Even though he hadn’t seen him in over a year, there was no doubt about it. The boy standing in front of Sora and dressed in the Organization's black hood was his own brother. Roxas’s arm dangled loosely at his side as a result of taking the blow that Sora had meant for the Organization’s leader.

“Roxas…” was the only thing Sora could find himself able to say. Roxas stared at him with a dangerous glint in his eye. That was his name. Why didn’t he recognize it?

Saïx looked between the two boys and growled. He followed through with the last order he had been given and launched himself at Sora. Even Xemnas made his way towards the fray. Ariel ran up to Sora’s side, ready to fight by him if needed. Gritting his teeth, Roxas bore through the pain and clenched his good hand into a fist.

All the while, Sora stood there, staring at his brother. Roxas. It was Roxas. And that was all that ran through his head until the boy was snapped by the sound of several sharp cracks of thunder rang out through the entirety of the USJ. Sora looked over this teacher. She was still on the ground, still and barely even moving. There was no way it was coming from her. That meant…

Sora looked at the top of the stairs. Standing there, bursts of static firing off of his clothes in all directions was—

“Cloud…!” Sora called out, breaking out in a grin.

“Mr. Strife!” Ariel cried out with tears forming in the corners of her eyes. He had been right. Cloud had come to save them after all, straight from U.A. He wasn’t even dressed in his hero suit at all, just his work clothes. And it didn’t take long to find out why.

“I thought something was wrong when I couldn’t get in touch with Yuffie or Caelum,” said Cloud as he descended the staircase, making his way towards the fight in such an oddly calm manner. With each step that he took, Sora could feel the static in the air grow more and more intense. “And when I ran into Yamazaki on my way here, he only confirmed that I was right.”

_ Riku…! _ So someone had escaped the portals earlier. Yuffie managed to protect someone. And now Riku was protecting them. If he didn’t have the class’s trust after this, then Sora didn’t know what would do it.

Sora’s grin faded as he finally got a good look at his stepfather’s face. He had never seen him look so mad in his life. The air sparked with electricity as Cloud’s expression only grew more and more enraged. There was a sharp crack of thunder. In a flash, Cloud was beside Caelum. She was barely able to keep her eyes open. Carefully, Cloud scooped her up in his arms.

“I’m sorry, Aqua, I should have been here,” Sora heard Cloud say. His teacher couldn’t even manage a whisper. And with that, Cloud turned to Sora and Ariel. With another flash, he was by their side, grabbing the pair and pulling them well out of harm’s way. Sora looked up at him, locking his eyes with Cloud’s own electrifying blue. They were narrowed. Cloud let go of them and helped Ms. Caelum to stand. “Kids, take Rainspell and get her to safety.”

“Yes, sir!” said Ariel with a firm nod. She and Sora carefully took Caelum from him. They placed her arms over their shoulders, careful not to move them too much in their effort to support their teacher while not making her injuries any worse. Sora glanced back at the scene. He looked back at Roxas. Roxas. Cloud hadn’t seen Roxas.

“Cloud…” said Sora, trying to get his stepfather’s attention.

“Sora. Go with Triton,” said Cloud, the static in the air getting heavier as he spoke, glancing back and forth between the students and the villains. “I mean it. I want you away from this—”

“Cloud!” He finally got his attention. Sora could have sworn that Cloud’s exterior softened for a moment as he got a look at Sora’s heartbroken expression. He followed the boy’s gaze to lock eyes with… His face fell.

“Roxas?” was all Sora was able to hear him say.

“Something’s wrong. He’s not himself. He’s…” He was on the Organization’s side. Even without Sora having to say it, Cloud seemed to understand what had happened. And that only made his anger return tenfold. Lightning crackled and burst through the air as Cloud let out a yell. His body surged with electricity. The hero’s eyes glossed over in an entire shade of electric blue. Sora and Ariel pulled back as Cloud activated his Quirk in full.

_ Cloud Strife. Quirk: Electric Charge. Cloud’s Quirk allows him to transform his body into pure electricity, making the hero into a lightning bolt. In this state, his speed increases drastically, but he is left at his most vulnerable. _

The lightning bolt Cloud had become rushed towards Xemnas. Before he could land any sort of blow, Saïx jumped in the way and collided with the attack meant for the Organization's leader. The scarred man didn’t even flinch at the astounding power Cloud was now channelling. Cloud tried to hit him on purpose this time, only to be blocked again. Their arms became a blur as the pair exchanged punches with one another, Saïx somehow matching Cloud in terms of speed.

“It doesn’t matter how fast I move, does it?” said Cloud, slipping so easily into his Fenrir persona as he struggled to land a single hit on Saïx.

“The only way you can hurt me is to gouge out my flesh,” Saïx spat back.

“So then I just have to wear you down!” Cloud started to pick up his pace. Sora couldn’t help but watch the fight. In all the eleven years he had known him, he had never gotten to see a fight up close. The hero enthusiast in him could barely look away as he and Ariel carried their teacher towards safety. However, there was one other person who did make him turn away.

Sora’s eyes wandered over to Roxas. He stood there, practically shaking with anger. Sora grit his teeth. Cloud shouldn’t have been fighting at the moment. He had to recharge just that morning, and knowing him, probably still wasn’t at a hundred percent power yet. And Roxas...

_ Roxas _ .

“Ariel, take Ms. Caelum,” said Sora, sliding out from underneath his teacher. Ariel stumbled a moment, readjusting the woman so that all of her weight was now balanced on her back.

“You’re not going to fight, are you?!” Ariel asked.

“I have to! I’ll…” Sora looked to Roxas and sighed. “I’ll explain later!” He didn’t wait for her reply. Just as Roxas finally snapped back to attention and rushed towards the fight, Sora ran at him.

“Roxas!” he shouted. He couldn’t let Roxas go again. He couldn’t let him fight against them, especially not Cloud. Roxas was a hero, not a villain. And no matter how he was acting, Sora knew that deep down that was still true. Which is why, as his brother turned to him, Sora tackled him to the ground.

Both boys let out a grunt as they hit the floor. Sora tightened his hold, trying his best to not hurt Roxas further. Even with his brother thrashing around, trying to escape, there was no way that Sora was going to let go of him. He wasn’t going to let him fight. And this was all he could do not to fight him either.

“Get off of me!” Roxas growled, kicking wildly and doing whatever he could to throw Sora off. Sora shook his head.

“No! I want to know what happened to you!” Sora fought to keep himself from falling. He couldn’t remember Roxas being this strong. He fought to keep tears from even forming at the fierce expression his twin was throwing at him. “Roxas, please!”

“That’s not my name!” Sora felt himself freeze, his body growing tense. Those words echoed in his head.

_ He… He doesn’t remember…? _ There was a bright flash of light from Roxas’s hands. Sora only tightened his grip instead of letting go. Even if Roxas didn’t remember it, Sora knew all his tricks. Nothing Roxas could do would make Sora let go of him again.

Sora blinked several times as his vision returned. There was a shout. Sora glanced over at it’s direction. From what it looked like, Cloud had tried to throw Saïx into the ground. Everything ended up with both halfway through a portal. Xigbar had returned to Xemnas’s side.

“Everyone’s all cleared out, except our little lightning bug,” said the warping villain to his leader. “These kids are tougher than we give them credit for. Put up a decent fight.”

“How many?” Xemnas asked with an irritated sigh.

“About five of us. Larxene’s still jamming the signal, so we’ll need to swing by as soon as we pull out to get her.” Xemnas only nodded.

“Excellent work.”Saïx wrapped his arms around Cloud, digging elongated claw-like nails into his electrified flesh. Cloud cried out in pain, trying as hard as he could to pry him off. He began to weaken, becoming only semi-electrified. And the villain took his chance. Saïx dug deep into the man’s side, raking claws across his side. Cloud bit back pain and Sora held back a scream as blood began to seep out from the wound, staining Cloud’s shirt. “Do you think…?”

“Normally, I don’t like usin’ my portals for messy work. Leave the icky jobs to Axel. But this time… I’ll make an exception,” said Xigbar with a shrug. He removed his hand from his coat. “Let’s have your blood splatter all over the ground!” Saïx fell through the portal, pulling Cloud with him. While the villain had managed to escape completely, Cloud was only halfway out. Xigbar squeezed the air around his open hand. The portal slowly started to close. Cloud tried to get Saïx to let him go. He could find a decent grip.

It took Sora a second to realize what they were doing. They were going to close the portal on Cloud. They were going to cut him in half. They were going to kill him.

“NO!” Sora scrambled to his feet, rushing towards Cloud in an attempt to save him. With a flick of his wrist, Xigbar opened another portal right in front of Sora. He couldn’t stop in time. He was going far too fast. There was a bright flash and Sora was tackled to the ground, out of the portal’s way. Much to his surprise, it wasn't Roxas who had done it.

It was Aladdin. Right behind him were Adam, Rapunzel and Eugene. Just like him and Ariel, his friends had defeated the villains waiting for them at the different zones. And like him, they had rushed to help their teacher.

Rapunzel’s long hair unwrapped itself from the braid she had put it in. It lifted up around her like a whip before shooting out to grab Saïx. It wrapped tightly around the blue haired villain, somehow strong enough to hold him in place. That was all Cloud needed. With Rapunzel holding the villain down, he managed to break free of his hold. Cloud immediately zapped out of his reach, a hand pressed to his side.

“You really think we weren’t going to show up after your friends backed down?” said Adam, claws and fangs of his own bared. Eugene had turned both of his arms into steel.

“Thank you,” said Cloud with a sigh, somewhat relieved that he had been freed from death and that more of his students were safe. Rapunzel let go of the feral villain, allowing Saïx to fall. Eugene, metal creeping up his entire form, rushed towards Xemnas in an attempt to start a fight. Adam was right by his side.

While Xemnas leapt out of the way without even needing to look at the boy, Xigbar was not so lucky. Adam had grabbed Xigbar by the throat. He knocked the man flat on his back, pinning him to the ground with his other hand firmly placed on his shoulder. Eugene groaned.

“Aw, that was supposed to look so cool…” his muttered under his breath, running a hand through his hair as his Quirk deactivated. Xigbar tried to move, but Adam dug his claws into his shoulder.

“Try anything and I’ll tear you apart,” the beast growled.

“Doesn’t sound very heroic!” Eugene chimed in, only to get a glare from their beast-like classmate. For once, Adam didn’t show any signs of retaliation. All eyes then fell off the leader of Organization XIII. And he looked furious.

“Children these days…” Xemnas spat out. “Saïx! Thirteen!”

“Get back!” shouted Cloud. Roxas began to run towards the remaining members of Organization XIII. Sora, once again, refused to let him listen to the villains. He tackled Roxas to the ground, pinning him in place. At this rate.. the only way to stop Roxas would have been to fight him. To hurt him further than Sora already had… the very thought put a crack in the boy’s heart.

_ I don’t want to do this… please don’t make me do this! _ Roxas swung his weight, rolling to two so that it was Sora on pinned down instead of him. Biting back his hesitation, Sora threw Roxas off of him. Roxas slid along the ground, holding his broken arm close to his chest. He stopped near Xemnas.

“Get Xigbar,” Xemnas ordered the two with him as soon as the boy stood. Saïx nodded, turning towards Adam. He moved so quickly that Sora’s classmate didn’t have time to dodge. Lucky for him, he didn’t have to. Cloud got there first, pushing Adam out of the way. Saïx attacked, landing a blow to Cloud’s already injured torso and forcing him back away from his companion.

“CLOUD!” Sora shouted in a panic. Adam rolled across the ground, winding up right next to his classmates. Even if he didn’t need it, Rapunzel immediately offered out her hand and helped him up.

“You okay?” All Adam did was nod as he stood, batting away Rapunzel’s hand. Cloud eyes narrowed as he turned towards the remaining villains.

“These are kids. They are  _ children _ ,” he said. “And you didn’t hold back?!”

“They haven’t been holding back against each other,” said Xemnas, gesturing to the blonde at his side. Cloud’s eyes fell on Roxas’s limp arm. He glanced over at Sora. Sora couldn’t even look at him. “These kids are no angels. Isn’t that right, Thirteen?”

“That’s all heroes are,” said Roxas with a blank look in his eye. Sora flinched at his brother’s harsh tone. “Heartless.”

“Exactly. Why are some violent acts deemed heroic and others as villainous? Casting judgement on ‘good’ and ‘evil’... And heroes… You heard the boy.” Xemnas placed a hand on Roxas’s shoulder. “Heroes are nothing more than instruments of violence.”

“What did you do to him?” Cloud said through his teeth, eyes narrowed into slits. Roxas raised a brow, a bit confused as he looked to his leader. Xemnas showed no sign of explaining anything to the boy.

“I only exposed him to the truth,” said the villain as calmly as ever. Sora felt a bit of anger build up inside of his chest. The truth? The truth?! He had brainwashed him!

“You…” The electricity radiating off of Cloud intensified as a fire burned in his eyes. “You’re insane.”

“We got ‘em outnumbered,” said Aladdin, gesturing between himself, Sora, and the other three that now stood by their side. Rapunzel nodded, her hair rising up around her.

“They act tough, but we can take them out!” She added. All five of the students made the movement to go forward into the fight. Cloud held out his arm, keeping the kids back behind him.

“Don’t,” he said, his tone firm and stern as he glanced over at the group. “The five of you get out of here.”

“You would be dead if it weren’t for us,” said Adam, making a fair point.

“I thank you for your earlier help, but this is different.” The students stared at their teacher. Rapunzel took Adam and Eugene by the wrists, tugging them back by her side. Cloud turned to face the villains before them. He sharply cracked his neck. “Just sit back and watch a hero at work.”

“But Cloud—!” Sora started.

“I know.” They had Roxas. He had to be careful. Apparently, the villains didn’t feel the same way about the situation.

“Saïx ...Kill him,” Xemnas ordered. The blue-haired villain nodded, and the Organization’s leader turned to Roxas. “Thirteen… the students are all yours.” Much to Sora’s horror, Roxas smirked.

_ Cloud doesn’t have much time before his charge runs out… _ ! Even if his stepfather probably knew this, it didn’t matter. There were villains going after the students. The second the two members of the Organization shot off, Cloud rushed right to meet them. The electric hero threw a punch, only to have it collide halfway with Saïx. The force of it ricocheted off the walls. As they dealt blow after blow to each other, Sora acted for himself.

He ran forward and tackled Roxas. Despite his brother squirming underneath him, Sora managed to get him pinned to the ground again. He didn’t want to hurt him. He had already used his power (although accidentally) against him once. Sora didn’t want to do it again. Unfortunately, Roxas didn’t seem to feel the same. He quickly managed to flip their positions around. He sat on top of Sora, holding him in place. Roxas raised a hand, quickly forming a ball of light in his free hand.

When Sora prepared himself for the blow, it took him a few seconds to realize that one was never going to come. Something flashed in Roxas’s eyes for a moment. He froze, staring down at Sora. The ball dissipated from his hand. The moment of hesitation was enough for Sora to kick Roxas off of him.

Saïx landed a blow to Cloud’s injured side, making him cry out.

“CLOUD!” Sora shouted, wincing at the pained look on his stepfather’s face. From beside him, Roxas slowly got onto his feet, staring at the combatants.

“Cloud…?” Roxas repeated. Just like his brother, he had his gaze fixed on the human lightning bolt.

“I won’t let you… hurt my kids!” said Cloud through gritted teeth. Sora felt his grip loosen as he stared at the electric hero. What… What did he just say?

Sora stared at Cloud as he landed blow after blow to Saïx. Each strike sent sparks flying from his fists, and hot white electricity crackled in his eyes. He was… He was doing this for them. He was doing this to protect them. He had gotten hurt because of his desire to protect them… and glancing down at Roxas, Sora could guess why.

_ He really does care about us…!  _ Everything he had done… Cloud cared about the students. And after all of this… after so long, Sora finally realized something that he should have a long time ago. Cloud actually did care about Sora and Roxas. He cared about his son. And Sora cared about him. 

He wasn’t fighting as Fenrir. He was fighting as a father. It then finally dawned on Sora. He wasn’t just some man who had married his father. Cloud was his father, even if the two weren’t related by blood.

Cloud, fuelled by his own desire to protect his sons and the students began to fight harder. He landed several heavy blows to Saïx, gritting his teeth all the while.

“A real hero…! Will always find a way…! To save…! Those…! In…! Danger!” said the hero, finally getting his hands on the villain. Despite his injury, Cloud heaved Saïx over his shoulder and threw him to the ground. Thunder rumbled in the air as he clenched his fist.

“You may have heard these words before…” Cloud grabbed the berserker,yanking him back on his feet, “but now it’s time for me to teach you what they really mean. Go beyond!” He held the villain close, his eyes glowing and his entire body sparking. Sora felt his own determination build.

“ _ PLUS ULTRA! _ ” Every ounce of electricity surged through Cloud’s body. Saïx let out a scream as the hero used all of his built up energy to shock the berserker and effectively frying himself. Sora watched, eyes wide as Cloud lit up like a firework. Smoke came off his clothes, his shirt singed and holes now burnt into what remained of it. He threw the villain at his leader’s feet with the last bit of strength he had left.

Cloud panted heavily, his hand flying back to the injury Saïx had given him. He had returned to his normal state, as did Saïx. The latter did not get up. Fury painted clearly on his face, Xemnas bore holes into Cloud.

“Surrender now,” Cloud demanded, There was no sign of the villain even thinking about his next move. Xemnas rushed towards the electric hero, still fresh on his feet and barley without a scratch on him. Cloud however… he couldn’t fight. Not like this.

“No!” Sora sprang forward, power surging in his legs as quickly as possible. He felt them break.

“SORA!” he heard Eugene shout. His metallic classmate reached out to grab the boy, but Sora was far too fast for him.

“DON’T TOUCH HIM!” Sora felt energy surge in his arm. Xemnas turned as the boy came rushing at him. He was rounding to strike. Not this time… Sora wouldn’t let anyone else get hurt!

Unfortunately, neither of them would get to fight each other. Something like arc of energy cut through them. Xemnas let out a yell, falling back and staring at his hand. Sora fell, skidding across the USJ’s floor. He looked back at the leader. The back of his glove was starting to absorb blood through a massive tear.

“Sorry we’re late!” Sora followed the sound of a high-pitched voice to the entrance. “We had to get the teachers together as fast as possible.” Standing at the top of the staircase was the entire staff of U.A. The principal of the school himself was among them, and sitting on the shoulder of one certain silver-haired boy. Sora broke out into a grin.

_ Riku.  _ He had escaped after all.

“I brought reinforcements!” Riku shouted, standing proudly with the rest of the U.A. teachers. His relieved expression was matched with the fierce looks each of the teachers had. All of them were more furious than the last. Tifa Lockhart, the strongest teacher at U.A. and one fairly close to Cloud, slammed her fist into the ground. The resulting shockwave rolled through the entire USJ, knocking the villains off their balance.

“Protect the students!” Sora heard the principal order. Out of the corner of his vision, Sora caught sight of the silver-haired villain’s eyes widen. They hadn't been able to escape in time. And now they were as good as trapped.

“Xigbar!” Xemnas whirled around to his comrade. He grit his teeth as another one of the teachers launched an attack on them. There were three loud bangs, each one hitting the Organization’s leader’s limbs. He crumpled to the ground, bracing himself up on the one leg that hadn’t been shot.

“Thirteen! Get Saïx!” Xigbar shouted as he pulled his leader to his feet. Roxas pushed himself up immediately and grabbed the unconscious villain. With a bit of difficulty, he managed to get him over his shoulder and rushed towards the portal. Xibar ducked inside of it, disappearing with Xemnas. Sora’s eyes widened. No… They were going to flee. Roxas was going to get away.

No… No, no, no. He couldn't let him go. He couldn’t lose him again!

“ROXAS!” Sora tried to get up. He tried to go after him. He tried to bring him back. However, the minute he made the attempt to stand, sharp pains rocketed up both of his legs. Sora let out a cry, dropping under the weight of his injury.

“SORA!” Sora felt Cloud catch him. He held the boy close, keeping him from moving any closer to the portal and Roxas. Roxas looked back at Sora. He couldn’t read his face at all. Roxas rushed into the portal. It closed with a snap behind him.

And his heart broke. Cloud dropped to his knees, bringing Sora to the ground with him. Not even he had the strength to keep standing after all of that. Sora couldn’t blame him. At this point, he was shaking. He couldn’t tell if it was from exhaustion, the pain or the loss of adrenaline. But he did know one thing

_ I couldn’t do it…  _ He had a chance. Fate had given him a second chance to save Roxas… and he failed. He couldn’t stop the tears from flowing. Sora turned and buried his face into Cloud’s ruined shirt. He was exhausted. He was in pain in more ways than one. He couldn’t take it anymore. Sora let his eyes slip shut, tears staining his cheeks as he passed out from pain.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the first major fight of the series has come to a close. That's right. I'm confirming that I will be going on with this as a series. I already have the next fic in progress, and have up to the end of the obstacle course mapped out. I want to finish the Sports Festival arc before I start posting that, so there's enough chapters for me to have a steady update schedule and enough time to finish the second half of the fic.
> 
> But! Back on track, the fight is finished! We know our opponents, and this is just the beginning of it all.
> 
> Next time!  
Chapter XIV: In Our Hearts
> 
> The finale of The Day Has Come!
> 
> Go Beyond! Plus Ultra!


	14. In Our Hearts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The aftermath of the USJ Incident.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it, folks! The final chapter of this fic! I said I was going to make this a series, and I will. I've already have up to the AU's version of the fight with Todoroki and Midoriya planned out. I just need to get started writing it. More information about the next installment of the series will be at the end of this chapter.
> 
> I just want to thank everyone whose stuck with me through this. Thank you so much for all your kudos and comments! I know I don't always reply to them, but I just want everyone to know that every single comment that I've gotten always puts a smile on my face and encourages me to keep going forward. So thank you so much!!! From the bottom of my heart, thank you!
> 
> There are no warnings for this chapter. It's pretty chill. You guys deserve it after the mess that was USJ.

They were caught off-guard. Kairi could have sworn that it was only the one villain in their area. This electric woman had appeared out of nowhere after her partner was defeated. That should’ve been enough to deal with. The three were ready to fight again, and would have if the villain hadn’t grabbed the unsuspecting Hiro, the smallest and least likely to fight back.

They were stupid. They should have stayed on their guard. The blonde villain gave off a low chuckle as she held Hiro tightly in her grasp.

“Put your hands where I can see them, little girls,” said the woman. Both Kairi and Mulan grit their teeth. They weren’t about to back down that easily. “And no Quirks, got it? If you use your powers, I’ll fry your little friend here. Listen, we’re only here to kill heroes, not students, and I really don’t want to get my hands dirty. But I will if you make me.” The girls exchanged a look with each other ... or maybe they would back down that easily. Slowly, the pair raised their hands above their heads.

“What do we do now?” Mulan asked the girl beside her, keeping her voice low.

“I don’t know…” Kairi muttered back. If her Quirk was electric, then she might be the one jamming their communication lines, just as Riku had predicted earlier.

“Don’t move,” said the villainess, drawing their attention back at her. She began to approach them, nearly dragging Hiro along with her. “Let’s take this nice and slow.” Kairi had to do something. She had to keep her busy long enough for her to think of a plan. Or at least distract her somehow so that Mulan could do something. Wait, distract her? 

_ I got it! _

“You know, someone with a Quirk like yours could be really successful! I mean, even if you didn’t want to be a hero, there are a lot of jobs in the city that you could do,” said Kairi, slowly pushing herself up onto her toes. “That kind of Quirk is really in high demand. So… why join Organization XIII?”

“What are you doing?!” Mulan hissed, her voice a low but harsh whisper as she glanced over at her classmate.

“I have an idea, just trust me,” she said, keeping her voice as low as she could. Kairi looked down to her heel. A bubble was already starting to form beneath it. She turned her attention back to the villain. “I just wanna know. Please? Just between us?” All the woman did was laugh.

“Nice try. How dense do you think I am? I’m not like that dumb rock you fought earlier. You kids can’t outsmart me.” Hiro reached up, grabbing at the metal ties of her coat. With the position he was in, he couldn’t do much more than that. The woman’s free hand began to spark with copious amounts of electricity. “You need to take hostage situations seriously if you want to be heroes. So here’s the deal. Either your friend’s going to die, or you are. You can save his life or your own. What’s it going to be?”

“Them! Save them!” Hiro shouted before either one of the girls could open their mouths. “Electrocute me!” Kairi felt her breath get caught in her throat.

“Hiro!” Kairi shouted.

“Don’t!” Mulan yelled.

“Sacrificing yourself for them?” said the villainess with a small chuckle. “How cute.” Kairi’s eyes went wide as the woman raised her electrified hand.

“No, don’t!” Kairi cried out. There was a loud bang. A powerful, pulsating wave of energy cut above the girls and struck the blonde villain in the face. Her grip on Hiro loosened enough for the boy to pull away. Instead of running out of arm's reach like any sane person would, Hiro instead turned back, holding out the palms of his hands. He activated his own power.

_ Hiro Hamada, his Quirk: Magnet Pulse. This kid can generate a magnetic field from the palm of his hands, making him stick and attract metallic objects. However, if someone or something with a stronger field or there’s no metal around, his powers are useless. _

Kairi and Mulan watched as the resulting pulse was powerful enough to push back the woman’s coat ties, and the woman herself with a choked yelp. She was thrown into the rock. As soon as she hit it, a swirling black portal opened up next to. Kairi felt herself freeze in place as the very man who had caused this mess stepped out: the man with the eyepatch.

“Never expected you to get taken out so easily,” said Xigbar, staring down at his fellow villain. The woman sneered at him.

“Shut…” She winced as she pushed herself to her feet. Maybe Hiro’s magnetic ability was stronger than Kairi originally thought. But, weren’t magnets supposed to attract metal? Xigbar simply rolled an eye.

“Alright, come on.” That eye fell upon Hiro. “At least you got something right.” He reached out for the boy.

“No!” Kairi didn't think twice. She kicked the bubble she had been making under her boot towards the villain as he went for her classmate. The bubble encased Hiro, knocking him over in the process as Mulan rushed towards them, her claws bared. The villains jumped back away from the dragon girl, with the woman stumbling and grabbing a hold of her companion’s coat.

“Come on!” said the woman. The villains rushed into the portal. It closed before Mulan can get to them. She sighed and the bubble popped. It didn’t take more than a second for the girls to rush to Hiro’s side.

“Hiro,” said Mulan, kneeling down besides the boy, “are you alright?”

“I’m fine,” Hiro told her, despite the fact that his hands were shaking.

“Good. Now, care to explain what just happened?”

“Science,” Hiro said simply with a shrug. He held up his hands to the girls, revealing to them that there were holes in the palms of his hands. “You can magnetize metal temporarily by rubbing a stronger magnet against it. Or my hands. As soon as I got a grip on her coat ties, I started rubbing him against my palm so that she wouldn’t notice. When I reversed the polarity to make it the same…” He chuckled. “Sent her flying. “

“Still,” Kairi said as she and Mulan finally pulled Hiro back on his feet again. “Are you okay?” Hiro nodded.

“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s going to take a lot more than 100,000 volts to kill me.” Hiro let out a short laugh. “Well… as long as I see it coming.” Mulan sighed heavily, most likely out of frustration.

“Don’t scare us like that again, alright?” she said. She earned herself a small sigh, but a nod from Hiro.

“Okay, but… what was that?” asked Hiro. “What hit her in the face.” What hit her in the…? Right, there had been that energy wave that hit her in the face… Something about that Quirk was very familiar. ...and now that Kairi thought more about it, she came to realize that she recognized it.

“I think I have an idea…” she said with a small grin. As if on cue, a voice called out to the three from the top of the mountainous area’s ridge.

“Hey!” called out the source of the attack, and all three students turned. Speak of the hero and he shall appear. “Any students down there?!” Kairi jumped up, waving her arms to catch the attention of the homeroom teacher of Class 1-B.

“Mr. Fair!” she shouted, catching the man’s attention. “We’re over here!” She sighed when the man rushed down to the three. A familiar face was always something that she found comforting after a hellish experience. Especially if it involved villains.

“Are you kids okay?” Zack asked as soon as he got close to the kids.

“Never better,” said Hiro quickly before either of the girls could say anything about what had just happened. Especially about him putting his life on the line. When looking to Kairi for a legitimate answer, the girl gave Zack a short nod. Aside from being forced to fight for their lives all day, they were fine. Physically, at least.

“Come on.” The teacher ruffled Kairi’s auburn hair and made it more of a mess than the fight had. He walked towards the ridge with the students following behind him like ducklings. He began to climb back up it. “Go join your classmates at the gate.”

“What about the villains?” Mulan asked as Zack helped up both Hiro and Kairi. “The rest of the Organization?” He held out a hand to her. She took it.

“Cleared out,” said Zack as he pulled the dragon girl to the top of the rock. “The police are outside with the paramedics. Go get yourselves checked out before heading back to U.A.”

The trio didn’t need to be told twice. The teachers not focused on finding and checking on the students brought the three to the entrance of USJ. All of them asked similar questions to Mr. Fair, and all of them were answered the same. They were safe. They were okay. The kids were ushered out of USJ, where, just as they were told, police and paramedics were waiting to tend to any injuries they had and yet their statements on the events that had just transpired.

But that wasn’t what Kairi cared about at that moment. All she cared about was one thing and one thing only. She cared about Class 1-A. And as she scanned the lot of people in front of the building, she caught sight of a good deal of familiar faces mingled in. Everyone was okay… wait.

Where were Sora and Riku? They couldn’t still be in the USJ. The entire class was out here from what Kairi could see.

“Kairi!” That voice… Kairi spotted something tall and silver moving throughout the crowd. “Kairi!” Hearing that voice… Kairi didn’t hesitate. She dove into the crowd of students and officers and other emergency workers until she found the one who had called out her name. Kairi ran towards Riku, wrapping her arms tightly around her friend. He picked her up, the girl clinging to him like a koala on a tree. Riku held her just as tightly back.

The adrenaline in her blood was beginning to fade, replaced by the sweet relief that her friend had made it out alive. She could feel herself starting to shake. If she had the strength to cry right now, she might just have right then and there.

“Riku… are you okay?” Kairi asked, her voice only cracking slightly.

“I’m fine. Yuffie kept me safe. She and Ms. Caelum are on their way to the hospital,” Riku explained as he dropped Kairi back on the ground. She pushed his bangs out of his face. “I’m just glad that you’re okay.”

“Me too. I mean, that you’re not hurt.” Kairi looked around. It seemed like the entire class had gotten out safe and sound. No one looked like they were hurt asie from a few scrapes and bruises. At least from what Kairi could see. And now that she looked at her classmates… it hit her that there was one missing from their number. “Riku, have you seen Sora? He’s not still in the USJ is he?”

“He’s…” Riku trailed off, as if unsure exactly what to say. Something began to twist itself around Kairi’s heart. She didn’t like the way that this was going.

“Riku… where’s Sora?” Riku lowered his head, not meeting her gaze. A gasp escaped from Kairi as it hit her. Not all of Class 1-A had escaped from the battle unscathed.

* * *

The Organization may have fled from the fighting, but it didn’t mean that they didn’t leave without doing something. Even if their original goal hadn’t been accomplished, they had done damage. They made their presence known and made a statement.

Or at least, that’s what Thirteen kept telling himself. He had been lucky. Compared to the rest of the members, his arm was one of the least troublesome injuries. Lexaeus had been horribly burned, Demyx probably had a concussion from something that he didn’t want to ask Vexen about since he had a similar injury to him, Xigbar’s shoulder… and Saïx… Yeah, after being shocked like that, there was no way he was going to be doing anything for a while.

He repeated the thought to himself as he sat in the Organization’s infirmary, if one could even call it that. It was an offset of one of the member’s laboratory that had beds pressed against the wall and random assortments of medical supplies gathered from the supply runs that the members went out on every week at the far end of the room. Some part of Thirteen was telling him to stay positive about the sour situation, like an old song that he had forgotten the lyrics to, but was stuck in his head all the same.

“That boy…” Thirteen heard Vexen mutter to himself as he set his arm in place. Right… that boy had come from the flooded area, where both the ice-manipulating member and Demyx had been stationed. Looks like Thirteen wasn’t the only one to fight that overpowered student.

“He beat me pretty good…” said Thirteen, managing out a weak laugh to try and dissipate the tension in the air. Vexen only grew more irritated, making Thirteen wince as he started to set his arm in its splint.

“He’s a threat.” Seemed like Thirteen’s attempt at a joke only made the room grow colder. And i chill in the air meant anything, that was probably literally. “He managed to take out myself, as well as almost land a hit on Xemnas.”

“No,” Thirteen cast a glance at their leader on the bed closest to the door, who had been the first treated. He was currently (and stubbornly, he caught Vexen add under his breath as he went to take care of Xigbar’s oozing shoulder next) wrapping bandages around his own wounds, wincing all the while. “That was the teachers.”

Xemnas cast a glare over at Thirteen. He didn’t say anything on the matter, which the boy was grateful for. He simply returned to his task at hand.

“You think with your Quirk, you would be able to see it coming,” chimed in a new voice from the doorway. Leaning against the frame was a tall, lanky figure who had already stripped himself of the black coat the Organization had provided him with. He had vivid, red spikes for hair and upside-down teardrops painted on his face underneath emerald colored eyes. Thirteen grinned when he saw him, more out of relief than anything. 

“Axel!” The man in the door gave only a smirk and a short nod to the youngest member in the room. Thirteen’s grin went away as he went over what Axel had just said.

_ Wait, his Quirk? What exactly  _ is _ Xemnas’s Quirk…? _ Thirteen had been with the Organization for a year. And in that time, he had gotten to know everyone — from their prowess in battle, to their personalities, to their Quirks. But no one really talked about what exactly their leader’s Quirk was. It pissed him off a little, to be honest.

“Not another word, Axel,” said Xemnas, golden eyes focused on the redhead. “Those children are stronger than we expected. If you'll excuse me…  _ leave _ .” All Axel did was roll his eyes. He strode over to wear Thirteen was sitting. The first thing he did was ruffle the boy’s hair as soon as he was within arm's reach. He didn’t look hurt, much to Thirteen’s relief.

“Hey, kiddo,” Axel asked. “You doing okay?”

“Yeah,” Thirteen replied with a nod as his splint was finally set in place. “Just broke an arm.” Axel let out a hum as he took in the state of the rest of the members that had been brought to the infirmary following their hasty retreat. His eyes fell upon Saïx, still passed out.

“Jeez, we overshot this one, huh? They were able to do that to Saïx…” 

“ _ Axel. _ ” Xemnas taking that tone was never a good sign. It made Thirteen flinch. Axel held up his hands in defense of himself, letting out a short, nervous laugh.

“Got it. I’ll be leaving.” Axel quickly backed out of the room. No one seemed to want to tempt the possibility of setting Xemnas off today. Not after what had happened at USJ. Well, at least the Organization tried.

“Thirteen, go with him,” said Vexen with his usual ice melting away slightly and waving the boy away. “Free up space for me here.”

“Thanks, Vexen,” said Thirteen as he stood, struggling a bit to pull the sleeve of his jacket over his newly set arm. The unofficial medic of the Organization simply hummed in response. Thirteen made his way towards the door, looking back at those who still laid in the infirmary. Something came back into the boy’s mind as he stared down at his arm. The fight...

“Thirteen.” Thirteen went ramrod straight when his leader called his name. Slowly, he turned to face Xemnas’s cold gaze. “What is it?”

“Sir…” He really should have said it was nothing. But… something… Something inside of him wanted to know. Thirteen bit his lip, leaning against the doorframe. “Can I… uh, May I ask you a question?” Xemnas stared at him. He huffed, pinching the bridge of his nose with the one hand that hadn’t been shot.

“Proceed.” Thirteen let out a sigh. At least he didn’t have to worry about stepping out of line or getting yelled at.

“That kid… the one who broke my arm. He kept calling me Roxas.” That name… as soon as he said it… Why did it sound familiar? “I was wondering if you knew who that was. Is it a Pro or…?”

“It’s no one you need to concern yourself with, Thirteen. Focus on resting and healing your injuries.”

“Alright…” With one last glance at his injured comrades, Thirteen scurried out of the infirmary. Axel wasn’t that far ahead of him. He picked up his pace, catching up with the redhead’s long strides. Why did he have to be so tall? As soon as Thirteen caught up with him, Axel glanced down at him.

“You sure you’re okay?” he asked, a brow raised. Since his first days at the Organization, the eighth member had taken the thirteenth under his wing. They had become fairly close to the point where Thirteen had expected to cause his friend to worry about him the moment his arm was snapped.

“Yeah,” Thirteen sighed, looking down at his arm before looking back up at Axel. “You?”

“Eh, those kids didn’t have Quirks that could hurt me,” Axel only shrugged. Without his coat, Thirteen was able to get a look at the man’s arms. He was telling the truth. There was barely a new scratch or scar on him. “They were smart though. I’ll give them credit.” Thirteen only hummed at that. “It’s all because that kid got out and let Fenrir show up.”

_ Right… Fenrir… Cloud? _ Thirteen shook his head. Fenrir was the hero’s name, not Cloud. But… that spikey haired pain kept calling him that. So what did he…?

“Don’t let what happened bother you,” said Axel, putting a hand on Thirteen’s shoulder as they continued their walk towards the common area. “It was just a setback.”

“Right…” Thirteen looked down at his arm again, “a setback…”

“Something on your mind?” Thirteen hummed in response. He continued to stare down at his arm. “This about the kid who broke your arm?” Thirteen slowly nodded. He thought about how the boy acted back at the USJ. None of it made any sense.

“...he tried to protect Fenrir. And the moment he saw my face, he… called me something,” Thirteen explained. Saying it out loud didn’t help him make any sense of it, either. “And then he wouldn’t really fight me after. He just kept tackling me, like he didn’t want to hurt me? But he really didn’t want me to fight either. I don’t get it.”

“I mean, you’re the same age as those kids, right?”

“That’s what I was told,” replied Thirteen. The boy’s face was the exact same as his now that he thought about it. It was weird, but to him it only meant that they had to be the same age. And again, he kept calling him that name… “Do you think he knew me?” Axel raised a brow.

“Knew you?” Thirteen nodded.

“From before the Organization. From before Xemnas brought me in.”

“Maybe,” said Axel with nothing more than a shrug before he slid his hands into the pockets of his pants. “But you remember what Xemnas said. You were found alone outside of the base, completely out of it. You were left here. Abandoned. If he knew who you were, you think he would have been searching for you for the entire year you’ve been here. And besides, whoever you were before doesn’t matter.”

“Right,” Thirteen said with a nod. “All that matters is that we’re here. We can fight.” That’s all that was important. The Organization had a mission to fulfill. Thirteen could not let something like hesitation or this weird feeling he was having bother him. He had been given a purpose. He had been given a reason to live. And he was going to repay their leader for saving him that day.

But it didn’t mean that the whole thing didn't bother him. Thirteen snapped to attention when Axel clapped his hand on his shoulder again.

“Come on,” said Axel, breaking Thirteen out of his stupor once more. “Fourteen’s waiting for us.” Thirteen flashed him a weak smile.

“Bet she was glad she didn’t have to come on the mission, huh?” Axel gave a low chuckle as the pair found the short, black-haired girl mixed in with the rest of the Organization members that hadn't been hurt in their failed attack.

“Big time.”

* * *

_ Sora always hated going to the doctor. He hated the smell of the office, and he always seemed to get shots when he had to go, too. But Daddy said that this was a special kind of doctor, not like the one Sora had to go to when he needed a check-up or something like that. That was the only thing that got the boy to willingly come with. _

_ While waiting to see the doctor, Sora only had to go to the bathroom. He was big enough to do it on his own. His daddy had trusted him to do it. But Sora didn’t think it would be this hard to find where his Daddy was again. This place was so big and there were so many rooms… And there were a lot of people walking around, too. _

_ So, the boy wandered around the halls, trying to look for some sign of his daddy. He couldn’t be that far away. And all of the doors were shut tight, making it harder for the little boy to search. He wandered around the place for a while until he finally found a door that wasn’t shut all the way. He went over to that one. _

_ Sora pushed the door open a little, taking a peek inside. The room was just as white as the rest of the place was. There were a lot more machines, though. Sora went inside to get a better look. There was one bed, with a boy lying in it. He looked like he was asleep. There was a small table next to the bed. It had an empty plate and a half-full cup of water. There was also a green star made of glass there, too. Besides the boy, it seemed to be the only color in the room. _

_ “Are you awake?” Sora asked the boy. The boy cracked his eyes open a small bit, revealing the same blue color that Sora saw in Roxas’s. He looked a lot like Roxas if he was one of the bigger kids now that Sora thought about it. It was a bit weird. _

_ “How did you…?” the boy asked weakly, raising his eyebrow slightly. _

_ “The door was open.” The boy only let out a sigh. Sora leaned up against his bed. “...are you sick?” _

_ “No… but.” The boy winced as he tried to move so he could sit up. _

_ “Are you hurt?”  _

_ “...y-yeah…” The boy in the bed slowly nodded. He stared at Sora for a while before opening his eyes a little more. He weakly smiled at him. “Thank you… You gave me something when I needed it the most… a second chance…” _

_ “I did?” The boy in the bed nodded. Sora could see that he was starting to cry. There were tears already rolling down his cheeks. Sora felt himself starting to panic. He was told that when someone was crying, it meant that something was wrong or they were sad. The boy was already here, so there must have been something wrong with him. “A-Are you sad?” _

_ “No…” said the boy, slowly shaking his head. He gave Sora a small smile. “I need you to hold onto something for me… okay?” Sora nodded. The boy carefully raised his hand, his whole arm shaking as he did. He took the half-empty cup beside him. He held it out to Sora. “Here… drink this… please?” _

_ “But isn’t that yours?” He couldn’t take it from someone who needed it. He had always been told that drinking water was important. Especially if you were sick. But then again, the boy said he wasn’t sick. He was just hurt …he didn’t look hurt to Sora. _

_ “You need it… more than me…” he said, pushing the cup into Sora’s hand. Sora took it from him, and the boy placed his hand on top of his own. “The world needs a hero… and I can’t…” His eyes started to drift closed. _

_ “Are you okay?!” Sora said, panicking a little bit. _

_ “All for One, and One for All…” The boy’s hand fell from Sora’s. Sora looked down at the cup he had been given. It looked fine, besides the small bits that were floating around in there. With a shrug, the boy downed what remained, draining it all in one go. _

_ “Sora!” called out a voice from the hall as Sora put the cup on the little table beside the bed. Oh right! Sora had almost forgotten why he was here. Daddy had said that they were taking him to a special doctor. Sora couldn’t remember exactly what he said now. But he did know that it had something to do with the Quirk that was sure to show up soon. Roxas and Riku had already gotten theirs. So did the rest of his kindergarten class. Sora was the only one left. _

_ “Coming, Daddy!” Sora called out. He looked back at the boy in the bed. He was fast asleep. Not thinking anymore about what had just happened, the little boy ran out of the room and to where his father was waiting for him. _

* * *

Sora slowly forced his eyes open as his dream came to a close. He blinked. The room was bathed in the orange light of the sunset. His legs were really sore… but at least they didn’t hurt to move. Or at least that much. There were still shots of pain, but they weren’t as bad as they felt before. He blinked again. He was in the nurse’s office. ...When was he taken here? The last thing he remembered was…

The USJ. The villains attacking. His teacher. His classmates. His friends. Cloud.  _ Roxas _ .

“The only reason I’m not going to scold you is because it’s not your fault that he’s here,” he heard someone say. Sora turned over. Sitting beside him were Aerith and Cloud, the latter of whom was getting the nasty looking wound he had gotten treated by the former. Sora watched silently as Cloud’s skin began to knit itself back together from where the berserker named Saïx tried to tear it apart.

“I’m not sure about that,” Cloud groaned as Aerith pulled away from him. “I think I went over my limit with that fight. My nerves are fried.” Sora curled up tighter in that bed for a moment, trying to bury himself in the sheet. He let out a small sigh.

“I’m sorry…” he muttered just loud enough for Cloud and Aerith to hear. The two broke their conversation as Sora gave up on trying to hide himself. He pushed himself up with the one hand that didn’t seem to be bandaged.

“You’re awake,” said Aerith, looking towards Sora with a more gentle expression than she had been giving Cloud. Sora wrapped his unbroken hand around the sheets to keep it from shaking. He stared at the bed.

“A-Aerith, I—” Sora stuttered, trying to find something to say. He was just sorry for everything that had happened. Even if it wasn’t his own fault, there was nothing else Sora could really think of to do. Tears brimmed the corners of his eyes, and Aerith was there immediately to keep them from falling.

“It’s okay. You’re safe now. There’s no need to worry. Everything’s fine,” she said, her tone just as soothing as her healing ability’s feeling. Everything didn’t feel fine, that’s for sure. Aerith swiveled her chair to face him. Even Cloud had turned. Sora could see the faint smile on Aerith’s face. “You were brave, Sora. I hope you know that. You saved lives today.”

Saved lives… right… the USJ. It wasn’t just an attack that had happened. There were… It hit him like a truck. Yuffie being thrown to the ground like a piece of trash. The sound of his teacher crying out in pain as her arms were broken and her face was slammed into the ground.

“B-But, Aerith. What about Ms. Caelum? A-And Yuffie!?” said Sora, those memories become more vivid in his mind. “Are they—?!”

“They’re… fine,” said Cloud, quickly cutting Sora off before he got overworked. “But… “ He exchanged a look with the woman beside him. Aerith sighed.

“The bones in your teacher’s arms are splintered, and she has some facial fracturing. Fortunately for us, there doesn’t seem to be any serious brain damage. But her orbital floor—” Aerith explained as she gestured to the area under her eyes— “was almost completely destroyed. As of right now, we don’t know if her injuries have any effect on her vision. We’ll find out once she’s healed up.” So, Ms. Caelum was going to be okay.. Even after all of that… she was going to be okay.

“What about Yuffie?” asked Sora. He could remember her falling, being thrown to the ground after losing her fight. He didn’t remember her getting back up.

“She’s fine. Despite some pretty bad burns on her torso and arms, Yuffie’s stable. I did what I could for both of them. We just have to let the professionals handle the rest.” Sora let out a sigh. They were safe. They were okay. They were going to get through this. “Aside from them, the only other injuries on our side were you and Cloud.”

“I… I’m sorry…” Sora stared down at the sheet laying across his lap, “for making you do that.”

“You don’t need to be. I would’ve done it either way,” said Cloud. He sighed, and Sora bit his lip. Still he had fought to protect the students. To protect him. His son. “However, it happened and there’s nothing we can do to change it.”

“But…” Sora was drifted away from his thoughts as the door to the infirmary scraped open. Another rush of relief fell over him when he saw who stood in the doorway. He felt a weak grin grow on his face at the tall brunette man who stood there. “Dad.”

“Squall—” Cloud was barely able to get the name out as the hero ran over to the two of them. He wrapped an arm around both his husband and son, letting out a sigh as he did.

“You’re okay…” Sora heard his father mutter, his hold on the two growing tighter. Sora buried his face into his father’s hero suit. He must have come straight from his agency when he heard what had happened. Something wound around Sora’s heart. He didn’t mean to make him worry like this… again.

“I broke my legs again…” Sora looked down at his hand as his father pulled away from him. “And my fingers.”

“But you’re alive. And so are your classmates and teachers. If you two hadn’t acted, none of them would have made it.” Cloud gave his partner a look. “The police told me. When you two get out of here, they want to have a word with you.” Cloud let out a sigh.

“All of Class 1-A fought for their lives today. You should be saying that to them, not me,” he said, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms over his chest. “I don’t think there’s ever been a group of first-year students who’ve ever had to experience a fight like this. So early on… They learned. They  _ survived _ .” Sora caught a hint of a smirk on his face. “They’re really strong for a bunch of kids. Those villains made a mistake attacking them.”

“Organization XIII.” All eyes fell on Sora as he spoke. “That’s what they called themselves. Organization XIII. And Dad…” A sour taste took over his mouth. Sora stared at his broken legs. He couldn’t say it. All he could do is remember the horrible feeling of his brother’s arm snapping under the force of his power. He… He had hurt him.

“Squall…” Cloud stood, placing a hand on his husband’s shoulder, “they had Roxas with them.” The hero’s face fell.

“Do you think they…?”

“Yeah.” He didn’t even need to finish his sentence for Sora to know what he was talking about. He was thinking about the same thing. “According to Sora, there might be something wrong with Roxas.”

“No. There  _ is _ something wrong with Roxas,” interjected Sora, shaking his head violently. There had to be something wrong. Even if Roxas still hated him for all that had happened between them a year ago, there was no way that his twin would ever hurt him like that. And more importantly... “He didn’t know who I was, who Cloud was… he didn’t even know his name. They just kept calling him Thirteen. And… I-I didn’t want to hurt him, but… but I did. I didn’t know, and…!”

Cloud put a hand on Sora’s back as the boy’s breath started to hitch, and he began to teeter on the edge of hyperventilating and heavily breathing.

“Calm down,” he said. “You went through a lot today. You need to rest.” Sora swallowed something in his throat. He couldn’t calm down. That was his brother that they took away from him. They had made Roxas into a completely different person. And yet, all Sora did was nod.

“Are you okay?” his father asked.

“I… I don’t know,” Sora replied after a moment. He felt fine physically, but everything that had happened that day… It left a heavy pit in his stomach. His hand curled tighter around the bedsheets. “I thought… I thought that Roxas… That he was gone a-and there was nothing that I could do about it and that it was my fault that he was gone and… and after everything…” He loosened his grip. “He’s still gone.” Cloud’s hand moved from Sora’s back to his shoulder.

“I’m proud of you, Sora. And I mean it,” said Cloud, his hold on the boy’s shoulder tight. Sora didn’t mind it. “You did what you could. You saved the lives of your classmates and your teachers today. You’ll be able to get your brother back one day, Sora. Until then… you’re on the right path. You’re going to become a great hero.” Sora looked at him. and weakly smiled.

“Thanks, Dad…” Cloud froze, staring at Sora with wide-eyes. Sora didn’t understand, all he did was… oh.  _ Oh _ . He pulled back, using his good arm to keep the two apart. “I-I could call you something else! I mean, it would get confusing because that’s what I call Dad and uh… C-Cloud?”

“Cloud.” Sora’s father nudged Cloud’s arm. While Cloud did show response to that, elbowing Squall right back, he didn’t say a word. All he did was stare at Sora.

“I’m sorry!” That was one way to cause Cloud to short-circuit that Sora had not been expecting to discover today.

* * *

Aerith made quick work of her job. Apparently Sora only had enough energy for her to heal his legs halfway when he arrived there with Cloud. While Squall worked on recharging Cloud (and getting him to come back to his senses in the process), Aerith turned her power onto Sora. She healed the remainder of his fractures, leaving his broken fingers until the next day. As long as he could walk, Sora didn’t see it as much of a problem.

The two who had been injured in the USj attack were soon released from Aerith’s care. Sora, relieved to be alive and not in as much pain as earlier, jogged down the steps of U.A. with his parents only a few paces behind him.

“You sure that you’re okay to walk?” Cloud asked. Sora nodded, leaping off of the last few steps, skipping the whole to land on the courtyard’s brick pathway.

“Yeah,” he said, turning back to face the two behind him. “Aerith healed my legs up good!”

“Be careful,” said Squall walking a few paces out of sync with Cloud. “You still have a broken hand.”

“Fingers, Dad,” Sora reminded him, raising his still bandaged fingers,wiggling them for good measure. “And they don’t hurt that bad.” That only made his father sigh. At least it wasn’t any worse.

“There he is!” said a voice from behind. Sora stopped. He turned around, catching sight of to failiar figures waiting underneath the arch of U.A.’s gate. The shorter of the two jumped up and down, waving her arms to get the boy’s attention. “SORA!”

Riku and Kairi were waiting there for him.

“Sora!” Riku shouted with Kairi, waving his own arm to get Sora’s attention. With a relieved grin, Sora rushed over to meet them. Both of his friends caught the boy, stumbling back with the force of his weight. He wrapped his arms tightly around them as they did him. They were okay. They were safe. They had survived. They had fought for their lives, and they had survived.

What the trio didn’t know at that moment was that the attack on the USJ was just the beginning of it all. More obstacles awaited the class of future heroes on the horizon. The worst was still to come. But right now, Sora, Kairi and Riku were just relieved to be alive.

But that day… That day, they had proven that they were on the right track to becoming the heroes that they had always dreamed of being. That day had shown the world that nothing, not even a group of villains, would be able to stop them.

They would become the guardians that the world so desperately needed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's a wrap! Again, thank you to everyone who stuck by me with this! I can't say that enough. Thank you!!!
> 
> While I get a move on with the next in this fic series, I want to say something real quick. If you have any questions about this AU going forward or just want to talk about it, feel free to contact me at my tumblr, which is queen-ofsunflowers for those who didn't come from there. I also post previews of chapters a week before they're uploaded onto Ao3, so even if you don't want to talk to me, that will act as a little heads up to let you know when I'll start posting. My goal is to finish the Sports Festival arc before I do that.
> 
> Next up on My Heroic Hearts:
> 
> The Sports Festival  
Fights between friends  
Revelations and backstory  
A confrontation with Organization XIII  
A new member to class 1-A  
Pain and loss  
Final Exams  
Family Fluff  
And some things that Roxas Fans will definitely like.
> 
> All this and more in Season 2: Screaming to the Sky
> 
> Go Beyond, PLUS ULTRA!


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